The Animal Tomb of KV52

Tomb KV52 is located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It is part of a group known as the Animal Tombs, which includes KV50 and KV51. The tomb is situated on the same rocky promontory as KV49, on the south side of the valley that leads towards KV35. It is cut at a slightly higher level than KV49 and is positioned near to KV50 and KV51.

The tomb was discovered in 1906 by Edward R. Ayrton while he was excavating on behalf of Theodore M. Davis. Ayrton found the entrance buried under 6 feet of debris. The structure consists of a shaft 9.6 feet deep that opens onto a single chamber measuring 8 by 5 feet. When first entered, the tomb was found to be almost entirely empty, except for two undecorated black boxes. The larger box held the mummy of a monkey, while the smaller box was a canopic chest divided into four internal compartments.

During a team led by Zahi Hawass and Ahmed el-Leithy in the winter of 2009-2010, further excavations uncovered several artifacts. These included Eighteenth Dynasty blue painted pottery, tools, and hieratic and figured ostraca. The ostraca featured a sketch of a seated queen presenting an offering, depictions of sexual scenes with women and animals, and cartouches of Ramesses II. The tomb is probably associated with the nearby tomb of Amenhotep II.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons