Missing tombs of Egypt

Royal tombs still to be unearthed.

Are there are more royal tombs still to be discovered? After all, the kings of the Old and Middle Kingdoms were buried in pyramids, rulers of the New Kingdom were interred in the Valley of the Kings and that's that.

However, if one looks more closely into royal burials it is quite clear that many tombs have yet to be found (whether these same tombs have escaped the attentions of tomb robbers over the millennia is quite another matter).

Starting with the Predynastic Period - the tomb of the unifier of Egypt, Narmer remains to be located (the tomb belonging to his predecessor, the Scorpion King, remains in question - a tomb previously identified with him has been challenged, a German team are presently looking for perhaps the true tomb of this ancient king).

Old and Middle Kingdoms - due to the impressive nature of their burial tombs, few tombs from this period remain hidden (similarly little remains of the inhabitants - from the Step Pyramid, all that remains of Djoser is a mummified foot). From the chaotic times of the 1st and 2nd Intermediate periods many hazy kings came and went, the brief reigns they shared restricting any grand burial plans - do the tombs of these kings await discovery in the years to come?

Even with the coming of the New Kingdom and the burials within the Valley of the Kings (and Valley of the Queens), tombs are still missing - the founder of the 18th Dynasty, Ahmose has yet to have his burial place identified (although his mummy was found as part of the burial cache from TT320, which suggests that his original tomb had been violated).

Nicholas Reeves and with Geoffrey Martin (the Amarna Royal Tombs Project) are currently searching for an Amarna Period burial within the Valley of the Kings (they suspect that Nefertiti herself may be buried there, her mummy moved to this final resting place following the 'closing down' of the royal tomb at Amarna under the rule of Tutankhamun).

Is there a 3rd grand cache of royal mummies waiting to be discovered? A faint graffiti left in the tomb of Horemheb by the High Priest Herihor may suggest that other royal mummies were being moved to a secret tomb (these mummies could include Horemheb, Ay and Tuthmosis I). Could this cache be hidden with the undiscovered tomb of High Priest Herihor himself? (Professor Andrzej Niwinski has recently been searching for this tomb using an ancient tomb robbers' map).

 

What other tombs remain to be discovered? Here is rough guide to tomb locations, known and unknown:

1st Dynasty

 .
  King  location  notes
 . Hor-Aha  Abydos - B19 27 storerooms above ground, 5 below
. Djer Abydos - tomb 0 with 300 satellite burials
 .  Djet Abydos - tomb 2  .
 . Wadj  .  .
. Den Abydos  .
 . Semerkhet  .

 .
 . Qa'a (Ka'a) Abydos

 .

2nd Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
  . Hotepsekhemwy Saqqara location near to the later built pyramid of Unas
UNKNOWN Raneb Saqqara ??? could be concealed under later constructions
 UNKNOWN  Nynetjer Saqqara ???  could have been destroyed by construction of Unas's pyramid
  . Seth-Peribsen   .   .

 .
 Khasekhemwy Abydos   .

3rd Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
 UNKNOWN Sanakhte Saqqara ???

 .

 .
 Djoser Saqqara

 .
UNKNOWN ??? Sekhemkhet Saqqara  an empty sealed sarcophagus belonging to him was found within his step pyramid, prompting thoughts that he may still lay undiscovered somewhere near...
 UNKNOWN ??? Khaba  Zawiyet el - Aryan   the 'Layer-Pyramid' may be his
UNKNOWN ??? Huni Meidum ???   thought to have been buried by his son-in-law Snefru in the Meidum pyramid, but there is no direct evidence linking Huni with this pyramid.

4th Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
  . Snefru Dahshur two pyramids built

 .
 Khufu Giza

 .
 UNKNOWN ??? Djedefre Abu Rowesh ?  started pyramid but never finished
  . Khafre Giza   .

 .
 Menkaure Giza   .
  . Shepseskaf  South Saqqara   .

5th Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
  . Userkaf Saqqara

 .

 .
 Sahure Abusir

 .
 UNKNOWN Neferirkare ? mortuary temple at Abusir
  . Sheoseskare ?   .

 .
 Neferefre Abusir   .
  . Niuserre Abusir   .
  ??? Menkauhor Saqqara pyramid and sun temple unknown, it is thought that the 'headless' pyramid at Saqqara may belong to him
  . Djedkare  Saqqara   .
  .  Unas Saqqara   .

6th Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
  . Teti Saqqara

 .

 .
 Pepi I Saqqara

 .
  . Merenre Saqqara   .
  . Pepi II Saqqara   .

First Intermediate Period comprising the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th dynasties a time of chaos in ancient Egypt , a chaos which stretches itself to locating tombs of this period!

 

11th Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
  . Intef I Dra Abu el-Naga (western Thebes)

 .

 .
 Intef II Dra Abu el-Naga (western Thebes)

 .
??? Intef III although his tomb has not yet been identified, it is most likely to be placed near to the tombs of Intef I & II   .
  . Mentuhotep II Deir el-Bahri   .
???  Mentuhotep III  Deir el-Bahri ??? (some sources state his tomb has not been found, some point to an empty tomb)   .
 UNKNOWN ??? Mentuhotep IV ?   .

12th Dynasty

  .  King  location  notes
  . Amenemhet I El-Lisht Pyramid

 .
 Sesostris I El-Lisht Pyramid
  . Amenemhet II Dahshur Pyramid
  . Sesostris II El-Lahun Pyramid
  .  Sesostris III Dahshur Pyramid
  . Amenemhet III Dahshur Pyramid
 ??? Amenemhet IV  Dahshur ?  (although it has no identifying marks, by slight technical improvements over the pyramid of Amenemhet III it has been linked with Amenemhet IV)
 ???  Queen Sobeknefru  Dahshur ?  (by use of a similar identification method as that used on the pyramid of Amenemhet IV, a pyramid has been identified as the burial place of Queen Sobeknefru).

Second Intermediate Period comprising the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th dynasties after the calm and prosperity of the 11th and 12 dynasies chaos again descends in ancient Egypt , locating tombs of the different kings is again difficult (some have been located, Hor and Neferhotep I, for example) - a table for these dynasties may appear in the future.

 

Page 2 Dynasties 18 - 25th

Page 3 Dynasties 26 - Ptolemaic