Ancient site · Minya
Royal Tomb of Akhenaten
A multichambered rock tomb in the Royal Wadi east of Amarna, where members of the Amarna Period royal family were originally buried.
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The story
The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten is a multichambered tomb in the Royal Wadi east of Amarna, where members of the Amarna Period royal family were originally buried. Akhenaten, an 18th Dynasty pharaoh, reigned for about seventeen years from his capital Akhetaten, known today as Amarna. The tomb was rediscovered in the 1880s, and excavation and research began in 1891 and continue to this day. Akhenaten's burial chamber is the only fully finished part, while the rest consists of unfinished rock-cut chambers probably meant for other royal family members such as Queen Nefertiti. Work stopped when the royal family moved back to Thebes about three years after Akhenaten's death.
Good to know
- Akhenaten's burial chamber is the only fully finished part of the tomb; the other chambers are unfinished.
- Excavation and research at the tomb began in 1891 and continue today.