Egypt's pyramids began appearing during the 27th century BC (Old Kingdom), the first probably designed by Imhotep for King Zoser. Over the next three dynasties and 500 years, the power of the pharaohs and the size of their pyramids and temples increased greatly. Commissioned in anticipation of the monarch's journey to the afterlife, they were filled with jewellery, precious metals, implements, food, servants and pets - things deemed necessary for the next life.

During the New Kingdom there was a blossoming of culture and empire. For almost 400 years, from the 18th to the 20th Dynasties (1550-1150 BC), Egypt ruled north-east Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, and built monuments unrivalled in stature and beauty.

Over the years, thieves succeeded in rifling and stripping almost all of the tombs now known, despite great precautions to protect them. This pillaging led to the idea of separating the actual burial site (with its precious artefacts) from the temple. From the time of Tuthmosis I (1528-1512 BC), Theban rulers commissioned their funerary monuments in pairs - a magnificent temple to perpetuate the idea of their immortality and a splendidly decorated tomb secreted away. To make life difficult for the grave robbers, the rulers chose a remote limestone wadi (dry watercourse) on the west bank of the Nile River. It became known as Wadi Biban el Moluk (Arabic for "The Valley of the Gates of the Kings"). The canyon had steep, rugged, scorched cliffs on three sides and, in essence, only one narrow and difficult entrance. Here, across the river from Thebes (Luxor), the Egyptians dug shafts up to 150m long and 100m deep. These passages led into either an antechamber or a series of halls (sometimes pillared) and ended in the burial chamber, where the pharaoh was laid to rest in a great sculptured and inscribed stone sarcophagus, ready for immortality.

The walls were decorated with the theme of the afterlife and the pharaohs' journey through it. Inscribed texts were taken from three main books: those of Am-Duat ("he who is in the underworld"), Gates (which charted the pharaohs' path through the underworld) and the Litany of Ra (the words spoken by the sun god on his journey through the caverns of death).

In general, the tombs followed two basic designs: the convoluted, split-level ones of early 18th Dynasty rulers such as Tuthmosis I and the straighter, longer tombs of the 19th-20th Dynasties. Successive galleries ended with a well or pit, built both to collect rainwater and to deter thieves. Work began early in a pharaoh's reign and never exceeded six years' duration.

After the burial, the entrances to the galleries were painstakingly concealed with rubble. Despite this camouflage some tombs were still raided by contemporary robbers (possibly with insider information from officials or labourers). It wasn't until 1799 that Napoleon's engineers uncovered several entrances. In subsequent years, several tombs were excavated and the precious contents removed to various museums in Europe. The most extraordinary and publicised discovery was that of the tomb of Tutankhamen by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter in 1922. The construction of a later tomb had concealed its entrance. Over 1700 artefacts were recovered; most are displayed in the Cairo Museum.

Documents recording the names of kings whose tombs have not yet been found suggest that there's much more to discover. Recently, archaeologist Kent Weeks used clues from a papyrus codex in Turin to uncover a labyrinth of over 100 rooms (up to 400m2 in size) in the tomb of the sons of Ramses II (No. 5). Inscriptions suggest that 50 of Ramses's 100-plus sons were destined for interment here, but the remains of only four adults have been found. Their DNA is being compared with that of Ramses's mummy in the Cairo Museum. The tomb is closed to the public, but discoveries such as this ensure that the Valley of the Kings continues to capture the world's imagination as a place of mystery and promise.

The Tombs
The Valley of the Kings has been one of Egypt's greatest attractions since ancient Greek and Roman times. Now as many as 3000 people visit each day. The tombs are numbered in the order in which they were discovered. Some, such as Tutankhamen's (No 62), are more popular and are therefore best visited before the coachloads pour in. Others are less crowded, such as those of Ramses VII (No. 1) and Ramses IV (No. 2). While 62 tombs have been excavated, the need for restoration, preservation, research and maintenance means that several are closed at any one time. However, there will still be many to choose from. Here's an idea of what to expect from some of the more popular tombs.

Ramses IX (1140-1123 BC) No. 6 This tomb has a long sloping corridor characteristic of the later New Kingdom tombs. Its walls carry reliefs of Ramses before the Gods and the large four-pillared antechamber is decorated with animals, serpents and demons. The ceiling of the burial chamber features a scene from the Book of the Night, in which the goddess Nut is surrounded by sacred barques drawn by jackals through a starry sky to the afterlife. Unfortunately the sarcophagus is missing.

Meneptah (1236-1223 BC) No. 8 A son of Ramses II, Meneptah was the pharaoh mentioned in the biblical Book of Exodus. The entrance to his tomb is about 80m up the cliff face. Its ceilings are decorated with reliefs of Isis (wife of Osiris) and Nepthys (sister of Isis). In the steeply descending corridor, vultures hover menacingly above walls covered with texts from the Book of Gates and the Book of Am-Duat. These texts continue on the pink granite sarcophagus in the burial chamber.

Ramses VI (1156-1148 BC) No. 9 The discovery of this tomb caused excitement, as reliefs on the corridor walls, from unknown and long-lost Books, shed light on beliefs of reincarnation more usually associated with India. Corridors leading 83m into the mountain have astronomical themes on their ceilings. Scenes from the Book of the Dead and the Book of the Caverns, and the complete text of the Book of Gates, are on the walls.

The passage to the burial chamber is guarded by serpents. In the chamber, the sarcophagus, shattered by grave robbers, lies below an unusual ceiling detailing scenes from the Books of Day and of Night. Originally built for Ramses V, this tomb was appropriated by his successor. Its excavation forestalled the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb below it.

Ramses III (1198-1166 BC) No. 11 The entrance corridor, three passageways and ten side chambers (which contained objects the dead pharaoh would need) are impressive. Look for the lintel over the entrance, the harp players in a room off the second passage, the pictures of their former contents on the walls of the side chambers and the scenes from daily life on other walls. Originally intended for Sethnakt, it was abandoned because of constructional problems but later re-dug from a different angle by Ramses III's builders.

Ramses I (1320-1318 BC) No. 16 A very brief reign deprived this pharaoh (founder of the 19th Dynasty) of a large resting place. Unsurprisingly it has the shortest entrance corridor of all the tombs. However the sophisticated relief on the blue-grey walls of the burial chamber and the pinks on the open sarcophagus create a unique atmosphere. The relief shows the pharaoh with deities such as Osiris, Annubis and Maat and divisions from the Book of Gates.

Tuthmosis III (1504-1450 BC) No 34 This tomb demonstrates the lengths to which builders went to thwart the grave robbers. Tuthmosis chose a most inaccessible spot high on a hillside and designed his tomb with a steep climb to the entrance and a steeply descending passage inside. The burial chamber lies at a sharp left to the antechamber. Supported by two pillars, the latter has walls adorned with lists of hundreds of deities (portrayed as tiny stick figures). The ovoid tomb is entered by unusual oval steps. It is decorated by sections from the Book of Am-Duat, with an unusually abridged version on the pillars. Between the pillars is the King's empty red sandstone sarcophagus. It is lined with an excellent carving of Nut, arms outstretched to embrace the mummified Tuthmosis.

Amenhotep II (1450-1425 BC) No. 35 This is one of the deepest tombs in the Valley. More than 90 steps descend through false chambers and over deep pits to the burial chamber. It worked: the mummified body was still in the sarcophagus, a garland of flowers round its neck, when the tomb was opened by the French in 1898. The mummy is now in the Cairo Museum. Of the twelve other bodies found there, nine were royal. The enormous burial chamber is located at right angles to the pillared antechamber. Clustered stars, set against a delicate blue-grey ceiling, look down on walls inscribed with the entire text of the Book of Am-Duat.

Horemheb (1338-1320 BC) No. 57 Although not of royal blood, Horemheb, an army general, became a military dictator and the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. Of scientific interest are the unfinished wall decorations in the burial chamber, which reveal the different stages of their creation. Fine festive reliefs adorn the well room and burial chamber (unfinished in the latter). Thieves mastered steep passages and steps, a false burial chamber and a hidden stairway, leaving nothing but Horemheb's red granite sarcophagus.

Tutankhamen (1361-1352 BC) No. 62 Compared to the dramatic account of its discovery and the wealth of treasures found in it, this tomb can seem an anticlimax. Small and plain, it appears to have suffered a hasty completion while its occupant received an inglorious burial. In contrast, it took ten years to remove, catalogue and photograph all the spectacular artefacts. Expect big queues to see what is a rather modest tomb. The walls of the burial chamber are decorated with texts from the Book of the Dead and murals depicting Tutankhamen's funeral and embrace by Osiris.

And The Others? Of the many others, several are worth considering if you want to avoid the hordes. Seti I (No. 17) is one of the longest (around 100m), with fine detail and enchanting murals. The colours in Ramses IV (No. 2) are spectacular and the decorations in Ramses I (No. 7) ornate and sophisticated. The tomb of Queen Tansert (No. 14) was later taken over by Sethnakt after he failed to build his own. It too is well decorated and has his granite sarcophagus in place. Next to this is the tomb of Seti II (No. 15), where Carter stored and worked on his finds. Virtually every tomb offers something intriguing, so it's worth pre-selecting those that interest you most.