Valley of the Queens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 25°43′N 32°35′E

The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim (Arabic: بيبان الحريم‎), Biban el-Sultanat (Arabic: بيبان السلطانات‎), and Wadi el-Melikat (Arabic: وادي الملكات‎), is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning –‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties (1550–1070 BCE) many princes and princesses were also buried with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests whom performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility.

The valley is located near the better known Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor) . This barren area in the western hills was chosen due to its relative isolation and proximity to the capital. The kings of the 18th dynasty, instead of the traditional building of pyramids as burial chambers (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), now chose to be buried in rock-cut tombs.

This necropolis is said to hold more than seventy tombs, many of which are stylish and lavishly decorated. An example of this is the resting place carved out of the rock for Queen Nefertari (1290–1224 BCE) of the 19th Dynasty. The polychrome reliefs in her tomb are still intact.


  • QV30 – Nebiri, Head of the Stables (18th dynasty)
  • QV33 – Princess Tanedjmet (20th dynasty)
  • QV38 – Queen Sitre, wife of Ramesses I
  • QV42 – Pa-ra-her-unemef, son of Ramesses III
  • QV43 – Seth-her-khopsef, son of Ramesses III
  • QV44Khaemwaset, son of Ramesses III
  • QV46 – Imhotep, vizier under Thutmose I
  • QV47 – Princess Ahmose, daughter of Sekenenre and Sitdjehuti
  • QV51 – Queen Isis-ta-Habadjilat, wife of Ramesses III, mother of Ramesses VI
  • QV52 – Queen Tyti (19th or 20th dynasty)
  • QV53 – Prince Ramesses, son of Ramesses III
  • QV55 – Prince Amunherkhepsef, son of Ramesses III
  • QV60 – Queen Nebettawy, daughter of Ramesses II
  • QV66 – Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II
  • QV68 – Queen Meritamun, daughter of Ramesses II and Nefertari
  • QV71 – Queen Bintanath, daughter of Ramesses II and Isetnofret
  • QV72 – Neferhat / Baki
  • QV74 – (Dua)Tentopet
  • QV75 – Henutmire, daughter or sister of Ramesses II

  • Bunson, Margaret. "Valley of the Queens." Encyclopædia of Ancient Egypt. New York. (1991)


Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.