However, traces of an original inscription on the door jambs reveal that the tomb was intended for Ramesses VIII when he was a prince.

The tomb was rediscovered on 9 October 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni, who briefly described it, making special mention of the decoration: The painted figures on the walls are so perfect, that they are the best adapted of any I ever saw so give a correct and clear idea of the Egyptian taste.

[3]The tomb was later visited by explorers and researchers including Jean-François Champollion,[4] Karl Richard Lepsius,[5] and Eugène Lefébure[6] as part of their respective archaeological and epigraphical missions.

Ayrton theorised, based on the presence of a part of the stela being recovered from a Coptic midden in front of the tomb of Ramesses IV (KV2), that the items from that king's foundation deposit had been moved to KV19 as a result of robber activity.

He noted that only wooden items were found during his excavation of Ramesses IV's foundation deposit and that it was clearly originally much larger.

Inside, the jambs are completely covered by three columns of black hieroglyphs; below them on each side are a pair of rearing cobras spitting fire.

[2] Mentuherkhepeshef, with the sidelock of youth on his wig and wearing a fine translucent robe, is depicted making offerings to Osiris, Ptah-Tatenen, Khonsemweset-Neferhotep, Bastet, Imseti, Qebehsenuef, and Amun-Ra on the left wall; on the right he makes offerings to Ptah, Thoth (whose belt buckle bears the prenomen of Ramesses IX), Banebdjedet, Hapi, Duamutef, Meretseger, and Sekhmet.