Abstract : Between 2007 and 2011, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA, now the Ministry of State for Antiquities) undertook a comprehensive set of excavations and surveys in the Valley of the Kings, including the Western Valley. The Western Valley terminates in two canyons, one running to the west and the other branching off to the south. The southern canyon lies approximately 150 meters east of the Tomb of Ay. There the SCA team uncovered a set of four undisturbed foundation deposits. The deposits contained pottery, food offerings, and tools, among other things. Previously discovered foundation deposits in the Valley of the Kings have always been associated with a nearby tomb. To date, however, our expedition has not found any tomb nearby. This presents us with a mystery: what purpose did these deposits serve? Did they signify something else beside the commencement or completion of a tomb? Did they signify the commencement of a tombwhich was never completed? Or is there still an undiscovered tomb nearby? |