QV 63
Anonymous
Entryway A
See entire tombThe shaft has a modern cemented brick surround and a metal grill without mesh.
Shaft entrance of QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Chamber B
See entire tombA large roughly cut, rectangular, undecorated chamber situated parallel to the shaft (A).
Side chamber Ba
See entire tombA large, roughly cut rectangular and undecorated side chamber perpendicular and connected via a short passage to chamber B in the eastern wall.
About
About
QV 63 is on the north side of the main Wadi, between QV 64 and QV 62. The 7m deep shaft (A) has two doorways opposite each other, leading to two large chambers (B and C) and a large side chamber to the southwest of chamber B (Ba). The shaft has a modern cemented brick surround and a metal grill without mesh.
Elizabeth Thomas noted that the two chambers visible at the time of her visit (chamber B and side chamber Ba) were cut at the same time. The tomb was surveyed by the TMP in 1981. QV 63 was subsequently cleared by the Franco-Egyptian team in 1986, at which time an additional large chamber with small appendage were discovered. This third chamber is not visible in the above TMP tomb plan.
Site History
The tomb was constructed in the 18th Dynasty and there is no evidence of reuse.
Dating
This site was used during the following period(s):
Exploration
Conservation
Site Condition
The rock into which the tomb is cut, though of inherently good quality, has a number of long vertical and diagonal fractures in the chambers and shaft. All chambers have piles of fallen rock lying atop a thick carpet of cracked mud. Mud also adheres to the ceiling, suggesting that the tomb filled completely with water.
Entrances to QV49, QV50, QV63, QV64, QV65, QV69, and QV84. Visitors shelter and southern branch of wadi in the background.
Entrances to QV64 and QV63
Entrances to QV64 and QV63
Visitor shelter at QV66 and entrances to QV62, QV63, and QV64 in foreground
Entrances to QV67, QV69, QVU1, QVU2, QV70, QV71, QV96, QV73, QV72, QV74, QV82, and QV75
Entrances to QV20 and QV21 in foreground, with QV96, QV73, QV72, QV74, QV82, QV75 and QV83 in background
View of the northeastern side of the main wadi with entrances to QVU1, QVU2, QV63, QV64, QV65, QV67, QV69, QV70, QV71, QV72, QV73, QV74, QV96, and QV66 with visitors shelter.
Shaft entrance of QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chamber entrances in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chambers in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chambers in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chambers in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chambers in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chambers in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of one of the chambers of QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of crack in the shaft entrance. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
View of the ceiling in one of the chambers. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of the dried cracked mud on floor in QV 63 from past flooding. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of salt efflorescence in QV 63. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of the ceiling in one of the chambers. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of crack and rock shift in the ceiling of one of the chambers. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of a crack and rock shift in the ceiling of one of the chambers. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Detail of debris and mud on the floor of the tomb from past flooding. © Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Articles
Tomb Numbering Systems in the Valley of the Queens and the Western Wadis
Geography and Geology of the Valley of the Queens and Western Wadis
Bibliography
CNRS mission report: Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France). Rapport d'activité 1987-1988 URA no. 1064, 1987-1988.
Demas, Martha and Neville Agnew (eds). Valley of the Queens. Assessment Report. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2012, 2016. Two vols.
Leblanc, Christian. Ta set nefrou: une nécropole de Thèbes-ouest et son histoire, 1: géographie- toponymie: historique de l'exploration scientifique du site. Cairo: Nubar Printing House, 1989.
Thomas, Elizabeth. The Royal Necropoleis of Thebes. Princeton: privately printed, 1966.
