The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

A - entrance steps with passage
B - 1st corridor (scenes from the Litany of Re and the king before Re-Horakhty)
C - steps (scenes from the Amduat and Litany of Re)
D - 2nd corridor (scenes from the Amduat)
E - deep well shaft (scenes of the king before various deities)
F - four-pillared hall (decorated with Osiris shrine and scenes from the Book of Gates)
G - lower passage ('opening of the mouth' ceremony)
H - two-pillared side room (scenes from the Amduat; pillars show the king before various deities)
I - antechamber (scenes of the king before various deities)
J - southern chamber
K - northern chamber
L - 6-pillared burial chamber (Book of Gates, the Amduat and the Book of the Divine Cow; images of the king before various deities)
M - chamber for canopic jars (?)
N - crypt (scenes from the Amduat; astronomical ceiling)
O - north-west side chamber
P - 4-pillars chamber 

 

KV 17, located in the southeast branch of the wadi, is the longest and deepest of all the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It is the first tomb to be decorated with a complete program of religious texts. It is also the first tomb to have a vaulted burial chamber.

The tomb of Sety I consists of a total of seven corridors and ten chambers, decorated with painted, raised relief (with the exception of Fa). Three sloping corridors (B, C, D), lead to a well chamber (E) and pillared chamber (F) with side chamber (Fa). A side descent and two sloping corridors (G, H) lead to a chamber (I) beyond which lies burial chamber J. This has five side chambers (Ja-Je), and a long passage (K) at the rear.

Noteworthy features: KV 17 is one of the most completely decorated tombs in the Valley of the Kings, with painted raised relief decoration of the highest quality. There is an unusually long descending passage (K) in the floor of the burial chamber J. Recesses were cut in the benches of Jb.

The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

An Unexpected Tunnel

In tomb KV17, researchers found a weird and unexpected tunnel which sinks deep underground beneath the burial chamber. This is one of the major puzzles related to Sety I’s tomb today. Could it lead to another burial chamber? An interesting feature found in the tomb’s decoration are cenotaphs, which can be translated to read “empty tomb.” The writing was likely seen as way to protect the pharaoh’s remains. This was a very important part of ancient Egyptian religion, as the deceased’s body had to be saved, otherwise, the person wouldn't be able to stay alive in the afterlife.

  the tunnel, it was probably meant to reach groundwater - creating a symbolic link between the pharaoh’s burial and the myth of the tomb of Osiris. In royal tombs, the cenotaph was placed on a false sarcophagus on an ''island'' surrounded by water. It was associated with the original forces of creation and the myth of Osiris. But for Sety I, his most famous cenotaph is in his temple in Abydos.

The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

The funerary equipment was still inside the tomb when Belzoni entered it. Of course, the precious metals and stones were soon pocketed, but many other things, like the wooden furniture and other objects which didn’t catch his eye, were left inside the tomb. As the wood was corroded and the other items were unlikely to fetch a good price, Belzoni took little interest in them.

Little funerary equipment was found within this tomb. Besides the anthropoid sarcophagus, other finds included:

• The carcass of a bull embalmed by asphaltum
• A large number of small figures of shabtis in wood and faience
• A number of wooden statues
• A painting brush along with paint pot or jar found at the entrance to the tomb
• a number of broken jars
• A corner fragment of the king's canopic chest

Other pieces from the tomb have been found widely scattered throughout the Valley of the Kings.

The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

When Belzoni entered the tomb, he had no idea what he had discovered. His confusion overcame him as a human mummy was nowhere to be found. He did, however, discover a mummified bull - so he decided that the tomb must have been created to honor Apis, a holy bull in Ancient Egypt. It’s important to remember that Belzoni wasn't a professional Egyptologist - the scientific field called Egyptology wasn’t even created until thirteen years later.
 Belzoni didn't write anything about the tomb being blocked off or any closed doors, so it is impossible to guess what its state of preservation was when he entered it. It is known, however, that the tomb was looted and the mummy only survived thanks to priests who lived during the Third Intermediate Period.

The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

The King Reveals His Face

The mummified face of Pharaoh Sety I (Seti I) still shows that he was not only extremely powerful but also very handsome during his lifetime. Sety’s tomb was brought back to the world on October 16, 1817 by the rebellious researcher Giovanni Battista Belzoni. It was an amazing find, but when the door was opened, destruction and confusion soon followed. It all began with the mystery of the missing mummy…

Sety I’s mummy was eventually discovered in the famous cache DB320. The pharaoh’s body had been taken out of his tomb and located in a hidden place to protect his remains. He was buried once again with several other famous rulers of Kemet (an ancient name of Egypt). His mummified body was neatly prepared and the mummy was covered with a yellow shroud. However, tomb looters had messed with his bandages and smashed his abdomen. Worse still, Sety’s head was separated from the rest of his battered body. Fortunately, his face remained untouched. Now, the remains of Sety I rest among other royal mummies in the Cairo museum.

The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

Sadly, the tomb was heavily damaged by researchers during the 19th century. 


 The sarcophagus was removed on behalf of the British consul Henry Salt is since 1824 in the Sir John Soane's Museum in London.

Priceless decorations gracing the walls, ceilings, pillars, etc. were also damaged by Jean-Francois Champollion, the translator of the Rosetta stone who explored the tomb during 1828-1829. He removed a wall panel in one of the tomb's corridors.

 Other wall paintings were taken by a German research team in 1845  Rosellini. The beautiful images that were stolen from the tomb’s walls are now parts of elite museum collections in Berlin, Paris, and Florence, amongst other locations.

 A number of walls in the tomb have collapsed or cracked due to excavations in the late 1950s and early 1960s causing significant changes in the moisture levels in the surrounding rocks