View source for KV2

{{short description|Tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses IV}}
{{About|an ancient Egyptian tomb|the KV-2, Soviet tank|Kliment Voroshilov tank}}
{{Infobox Egyptian tomb
| name       = KV2
| owner      = [[Ramesses IV]]
| image      = Tomb of Ramses IV in Valley of the Kings on West Bank of Luxor Egypt.jpg
| image_alt  =
| caption    =
| coordinates = {{coord|25|44|29.2|N|32|36|07.7|E|type:landmark_region:EG|display=inline,title}}
| map_alt    =
| location   = [[List of burials in the Valley of the Kings#East Valley|East Valley of the Kings]]
| date       = Open since antiquity
| excavated  = [[Edward R. Ayrton]] (1905–06)<br>[[Howard Carter]] (1920)
| decoration = {{Plainlist|
* [[Litany of Re|Litany of Ra]]
* [[Book of Caverns]]
* [[Book of the Dead]]
* [[Amduat|Book of Amduat]]
* [[Book of the Heavens]]
}}
| layout     =
| prev       = KV1
| next       = KV3
}}
'''Tomb KV2''', found in  the [[Valley of the Kings]], is the tomb of [[Ramesses IV]], and is located low in the main valley, between [[KV7]] and [[KV1]]. It has been open since antiquity and contains a large amount of graffiti.

==Contemporary plans of the tomb==
There are two known plans of the tomb's layout contemporary to its construction. One on [[papyrus]] (now located at the Egyptian Museum in Turin) provides a detailed depiction of the tomb at 1:28 scale. All of the passages and chambers are present, with measurements written in [[hieratic]] script. The papyrus plan also depicts the pharaoh's sarcophagus surrounded by four concentric sets of shrines, the same layout of shrines that were found intact within [[Tutankhamun]]'s [[KV62|tomb]].{{sfn|Dodson|Ikram|2008|p=27}} The other plan of the tomb was found inscribed on a slab of limestone not far from the tomb's entrance, and is a rough layout of the tomb depicting the location of its doors. The latter plan may have just been a "workman's doodle"{{sfn|Dodson|Ikram|2008|p=162}} but the papyrus plan almost certainly had a deeper ritual meaning, and may have been used to [[consecrate]] the tomb after it was built.{{sfn|Dodson|Ikram|2008|p=27}}

==Tomb layout==
A [[hieratic]] [[ostracon]] has been discovered mentioning the initiation of the tomb, its location selected by the local governor and two of the pharaoh's chief attendants in the second year of his reign.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=162}} Ramesses IV ascended the throne late in life, and to ensure that he would have a sizable tomb (during what would be a relatively brief reign of about six years), he doubled the size of the existing work gangs at [[Deir el-Medina]] to a total of 120 men.{{sfn|Dodson|Ikram|2008|p=32}} Though sizable, KV2 has been described as "simplistic" in its design and decoration.<ref>[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ramesses4t.htm The Tomb of Ramesses IV, Valley of the Kings, Egypt, accessed July 15, 2009]</ref> The tomb was excavated at the base of a hill on the northwest side of the [[Valley of the Kings]].
[[File:KV2 Rameses IV Schematics.jpg|thumb|Schematic of KV2]]
Like other tombs of the [[Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt|20th Dynasty]], KV2 is laid out along a straight axis. The successors of Ramesses III from this dynasty constructed tombs that follow this pattern and most were decorated in a similar manner to one other.

The tomb has a maximum length of 88.66 m<ref name="thebanmappingproject.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/sites/browse_tomb_816.html |title=KV 2 (Rameses IV) |website=www.thebanmappingproject.com |access-date=2018-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506014235/http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/sites/browse_tomb_816.html |archive-date=2009-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and consists of three slowly descending corridors labeled B, C, and D. This is followed by an enlarged chamber (E), and then the burial chamber (J). Past the burial chamber lies a narrow corridor (K) flanked by three side chambers [Ka, Kb and Kc].<ref name="thebanmappingproject.com" />

The tomb is mostly intact and is decorated with scenes from the ''[[Litany of Re|Litany of Ra]]'', ''[[Book of Caverns]]'', ''[[Book of the Dead]]'', ''[[Amduat|Book of Amduat]]'' and the ''[[Book of the Heavens]]''.

The [[sarcophagus]] is broken (probably in antiquity), and the [[mummy]] was relocated to the mummy cache in [[KV35]].{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=163}}

==Visits in antiquity==
[[File:KV2 Tomb of Rameses IV (9794931136).jpg|thumb|Coptic graffiti within KV2]] [[File:KV2-Plan.jpg|thumb|KV2 plan on ancient papyrus found in the tomb]] [[File:Entrance celing of Ramses IV tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV2).jpg|thumb|Entrance ceiling of Ramses IV tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV2)]]
The tomb was one of about eleven tombs open to early travelers. KV2 contains the second-highest number of ancient graffiti within it (after [[KV9]]), with 656 individual graffiti left by both Ancient Greek and Roman visitors.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=51}} This tomb also contains around 50 or so examples of [[Coptic language|Coptic]] graffiti, mostly sketched onto the right wall by the entranceway.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=50}} The tomb was likely used as a dwelling by Coptic monks,{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=162}} and there are also depictions of Coptic saints and crosses on the tomb's walls.<ref name="thebanmappingproject.com"/>

Early European visitors to the area included [[Richard Pococke]], who may have visited KV2 and designated it "Tomb B" in his ''Observations of Egypt'', published in 1743.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|pp=52–53}}{{Disputed inline|KV2 is not tomb "B" in Pococke's "Observations of Egypt"|date=March 2023}}

The savants accompanying [[Napoleon]]'s [[Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt|campaign in Egypt]] surveyed the Valley of the Kings and designated KV2 as "IIe Tombeau" ("2nd Tomb") in their list.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|pp=52–53}} Other visitors of note included [[James Burton (Egyptologist)|James Burton]], who mapped the tomb in 1825, and the Franco-Tuscan Expedition of 1828–1829, who conducted an [[Epigraphy|epigraphic]] survey of the tomb's inscriptions.<ref name="thebanmappingproject.com"/>

==Modern archeological work==
Archeologist [[Edward Ayrton]] excavated the entranceway to the tomb during 1905/1906, followed by [[Howard Carter]] in 1920. Both of them found remnants of the materials which had originally come from inside the tomb, such as [[shabtis]], numerous ostraca and fragments of wood, glass and [[Faience]].{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=162}}

==Notes==
[[File:Tomb of Rameses IV, Valley of the Kings, Egypt (53956208628).jpg|thumb|View of the corridor inside Ramesses IV's tomb]]
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/completevalleyof0000reev |url-access= registration |last1=Reeves |first1=Nicholas |last2=Wilkinson |first2= Richard H |title=The Complete Valley of the Kings |year=1996 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |isbn=9780500050804 }}
* {{cite book|last=Siliotti |first=A |title=Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the Theban Necropolises and Temples |year=1996 |publisher=A.A. Gaddis }}
* {{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/tombinancientegy0000dods |last1=Dodson |first1=Aidan |last2=Ikram |first2=Salima |title=The Tomb in Ancient Egypt: Royal and Private Sepulchres from the Early Dynastic Period to the Romans |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2008 |isbn=9780500051399 }}

==External links==
*[https://thebanmappingproject.com/tombs/kv-02-rameses-iv Theban Mapping Project: KV2] – Includes description, images, and plans of the tomb.
[[File:View of Ramesses IV’s Tomb KV2 burial chamber.jpg|thumb|centre|400px|View of the Burial chamber of Ramesses IV taken from the inside tomb corridor of tomb KV2]]



{{Commons category|KV2}}


{{Valley of the Kings}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kv02}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century BC]]
[[Category:Valley of the Kings]]
[[Category:Ramesses IV]]
[[Category:12th-century BC establishments in Egypt]]
[[Category:1920 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:1905 archaeological discoveries]]