In the early years of the twentieth century, Theodore M. Davis was granted the concession to excavate in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of modern-day Luxor. Between 1902 and 1914, Davis and his archaeologists discovered more than 20 tombs and burial deposits. The written record kept by Mrs. Andrews adds context and detail to the contemporary archaeological publications, which often lacked critical information.
Work to develop this Omeka/Neatline exhibit has been completed during a one-month Digital Humanities Fellowship at the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia which has a copy of the Andrews diary in its collection, donated by Egyptologist Herbert Winlock. During this time, the focus has been on developing the technical framework for the exhibit, and adding exbibit content for diary volume 15, which covers the 1907-1908 excavation season. This was a contentious period when relations between Davis, his archaeologist Edward Ayrton and the Antiquities Inspector for Upper Egypt, Arthur Weigall, were particularly fraught. Despite this, Ayrton uncovered the remarkable deposit known as 'the Gold Tomb' (KV56), Tutankhamun's embalming cache (KV54) and the tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Horemheb (KV57).
Information in the journals has been supplemented by material written and drawn by the Egyptologists, archaeologists and artists involved in each season's excavations, where available. Original tomb reports, photographs and artists' renderings of Egypt at the time are also featured. The Emmapedia is a database of biographies of individuals noted in Emma's diary, arranged by volume.
Explore Excavations by Year
click on the links in the table below or in the tomb pop-ups to explore Davis's excavations by year. Each dot on the map represents a tomb, color-coded by year of discovery.
| 1902 |
KV45 - Userhet |
| 1903 |
KV20 - Tuthmosis I & Hatshepsut KV43 - Tuthmosis IV KV60 - Sit-Ra, called In? |
| 1905 |
KV2 - Ramesses IV KV19 - Mentuherkhepeshef KV22 - Amenhotep III KV46 - Yuya and Thuyu KV47 - Siptah KV53 - Unknown |
| 1906 |
KV48 - Amenemopet KV49 - Unknown KV50 - Unknown KV51 - Unknown KV52 - Unknown |
| 1907 |
KV10 - Amenmeses KV54 - Tut's Embalming Cache KV55 - Akhenaten |
| 1908 |
KV56 - The Gold Tomb KV57 - Horemheb |
| 1909 |
KV58 - Unknown |
| 1910 |
KV61 - Unknown |
| 1912 |
KV3 - Son of Ramesses III |
| 1913 |
KV7 - Ramesses II |
General Bibliography
Archival Sources
About the Base Map
The map was created in 1909 by George Scweinfurth, and georectified using NYPL's Mapwarper. The map is not 100% accurate when compared closely with satellite images of the Valley of the Kings. The map markers should therefore be regarded as indication the location of each tomb in a broad manner, rather than with geocoded precision. The general distribution of the plot marks gives an insight into Davis's systematic strategy for exploring the Valley of the Kings.
Credits
This work was generously funded by the American Philosophical Society. The APS Head of Technology, Scott Ziegler, offered project oversight, technical guidance and practical advice. Hannah Griggs of intemperance.org was incredibly generous in sharing her time, expertise and code. Thank you!