Royal Wadi and tombs

It is the burial place of the Ancient Egyptian royal family of Amarna, which reigned during the 18th Dynasty.

The wadi can now be journeyed along on a metalled road, and the tomb is protected by a covering and channels to divert water away from its entrance.

[2] When viewed from the plain, it forms a gap in the surrounding cliffs that resembles the hieroglyph for "horizon".

Egyptologist Cyril Aldred suggests this resemblance may have been a factor in Akhenaten's selection of the site as his new capital, and in its name, Akhetaten, meaning "Horizon of the Aten.

The rock is of the same uneven type as the Royal Tomb, and despite its unfinished state, the process of plastering and smoothing the corridor walls was begun.

[6] A fragment of an ushabti belonging to Akhenaten was found at the entrance, but Gabolde and Dunsmore suggest this was transported there from the Royal Tomb during the 1930s.

All of the walls and ceilings in the tomb show signs of plastering to give a smooth, squared appearance.

[11] In plan it is similar to the suite of six rooms in the Royal Tomb of Akhenaten thought to have been intended for the burial of Nefertiti.

It is cut into the floor of the valley, and is simple, with only a descending entrance leading to a single, unfinished room.