<P> Each burial was provided with equipment that would enable a comfortable existence in the afterlife . Also present in the tombs were items used to perform magic rituals, such as Shabtis and divine figurines . Some equipment was what the king may have used during his lifetime (Tutankhamun's sandals for example), and some was specially constructed for the burial . </P> <P> The modern abbreviation "KV" stands for "Kings' Valley", and the tombs are numbered according to their order of' discovery', from KV1 (Rameses VII) to KV64 (discovered in 2012). Since the early 19th century AD, antiquarians and archaeologists have cleared and recorded tombs, with a total of 61 sepulchers being known by the start of the 20th century . KV5 was only rediscovered in the 1990s after being dismissed as unimportant by previous investigators . The West Valley tombs often carry the prefix "WV", but they follow the same numbering system . Some of the tombs are unoccupied, others remain unidentifiable as regards to their owners, and still others are merely pits used for storage . Most of the open tombs in the Valley of the Kings are located in the East Valley, and this is where most of the tourist facilities are located . </P> <P> The Eighteenth Dynasty tombs within the valley vary quite a bit in decoration, style, and location . It seems that at first there was no fixed plan . The tomb of Hatshepsut has a unique shape, twisting and turning down over 200 metres from the entrance, so that the burial chamber is 97 metres below the surface . The tombs gradually became more regular and formalised, and those of Thutmose III and Thutmose IV, KV34 and KV43, are good examples of Eighteenth Dynasty tombs, both with their bent axis, and simple decoration . </P> <P> Perhaps the most imposing tomb of this period is that of Amenhotep III, WV22, located in the West Valley . It was re-investigated in the 1990s by a team from Waseda University, Japan, but it is not open to the public . </P>

Why the pharaohs of the new kingdom were buried in the valley of the kings