Valley of the Queens

The Valley of the Queens  is a burial site in Luxor, in which queens, princes, princesses, and other high-ranking officials were buried. Pharaohs themselves were buried in the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Queens was known anciently as Ta-Set-Neferu, which has a double meaning of 'The Place of Beauty' and/or 'the Place of the Royal Children'.

The Valley of the Queens consists of the main wadi, which contains most of the tombs, along with the Valley of Prince Ahmose, the Valley of the Rope, the Valley of the Three Pits, and the Valley of the Dolmen. The main wadi contains 91 tombs and the subsidiary valleys add another 19 tombs. The burials in the subsidiary valleys all date to the 18th Dynasty.

The reason for choosing the Valley of the Queens as a burial site is not known. The close proximity to the workers' village of Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Kings may have been a factor. Another consideration could have been the existence of a sacred grotto dedicated to Hathor at the entrance of the Valley. This grotto may have been associated with rejuvenation of the dead.

Along with the Valley of the Kings and nearby Thebes, the Valley of the Queens was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

Address
Luxor, Egypt

Established
16th century BCE