Group looks around at the surrounding walls inside a cave

Project team inspecting QV 60, damaged as a result of past and recent (1994) flooding, with temporary shoring at left.

Unlike the Valley of the Kings, the geological stratigraphy of the Valley of the Queens has undergone faulting and slumping. This means that the horizontally deposited strata comprising the Theban limestone and marls were tilted during slumping in the Pliocene-Pleistocene period.

Consequently, excavation of the tombs occurred at the base of a massive tilted block of the lowermost stratum of the Theban Formation. This is particularly true on the south side of the main wadi, where all the tombs are excavated into lower strata comprising clay-rich marl.

Damage from Clay, Salt, and Bats

Clay minerals in the marl swell on wetting, and over the 3,000-plus years since their original excavation, the tombs have been subjected to periodic flash flooding. On drying, the clays shrink, leading to rock collapse in tombs and extensive damage with loss of original wall paintings. Because of tilting and consequent fracturing of the rock layers, veins of gypsum, anhydrite and halite, resulting from percolation of groundwater, are also prevalent throughout most of the tombs.

As in the tomb of Nefertari, disruption due to cycles of salt crystallization and dissolution has damaged tomb wall paintings.

Several species of bats have also contributed to the deterioration and defacement of paintings and many tombs are inhabited by colonies. These colonies comprise a health threat (histoplasmosis and possibly rabies) to people who venture into tombs that are or have been colonized.

Engineering Interventions

Condition assessments were undertaken on the fifty-seven 18th-Dynasty shaft tombs and the thirty-four 19th- and 20th-Dynasty chamber tombs in the main valley, including their geological and hydrological context.

Many tombs require engineering interventions, such as shoring and re-creation of collapsed ceilings, as well as exterior protection in the form of constructed entry arches and shaft covers. Plans have been fully developed for stabilization and protection of all ninety-one tombs in the main valley including:

  • geotechnical stabilization of chamber and shaft tombs (including engineering, plugging of shafts, and reburial, as needed)
  • exterior tomb protection (retaining walls and arched covers for chamber tombs; changes to entries; localized flood control measures at or near tomb entrances)
  • fabrication and installation of new doors for chamber tombs and protective covers for shaft tombs; refurbishment of useable existing doors
  • removal and relocation of bats to selected shaft tombs
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