The entrance to the West Valley of the Valley of the Kings is here. In the West Valley, archaeologists are excavating the tomb of Tut's wife. The house of Theodore Davis (1838-1915), a wealthy man who explored the Valley of the Kings, can be seen in this image. Magica/Alamy)

Before the ancient Egyptians built tombs, they would dig holes that contained buried artifacts. A mausoleum will be built nearby. Recently, in the Valley of the Kings (where King Tut is buried), archaeologists unearthed a set of such "basic deposits" but, due to their confusion, no tomb was found. "KDSPE" "KDSPs" Discovered in 2010 near the tomb of King Ay (who married King Tut's widow), four foundations were found containing a blue painted vase, a bull-headed knife with a wooden handle. The four basal deposits are rectangular in shape. Radar scans of the site in West Valley revealed an unusual cavity, suggesting a tomb entrance near the deposit. Excavation resumed in January 2018.

The fact that these deposits are located near the tomb of Ai increases the likelihood that the tomb belongs to Ankesenamun, wife of King Tut. [See photos of Egypt's Valley of the Kings]

However, no tombs have been found. "We have not found anything in the Western Valley yet," Zahi Hawass, the former antiquities minister in charge of the excavations, told us in an email "Live Science". The team went deep into where radar indicated there might be a tomb entrance, but the researchers found nothing. The team is still digging elsewhere near the excavation base in hopes of finding a grave. "KDSPE" "KDSPs" "KDSPE" "KDSPs" Hawass will not be intimidated, and his team will keep digging. "Through my experience with radar, I want to tell you that radar has never been found in Egypt," Hawass told Live Science. My dig does not rely on any radar readings at all.

Use of radar in the Kings Valley has proven problematic in the past. In 2016, radar scans revealed a hidden room in Tutankhamun's tomb, but later scans revealed that the room did not exist. Most archaeological discoveries in the Valley of the Kings were made before the invention of radar. After years of excavation, Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922.

In addition to working in the West Valley, Hawass also began excavating in the East Valley, where archaeologists have discovered most of the king's tombs to date.

Hawass has long been convinced that there are many more royal tombs yet to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings. "The tomb of Thutmose II has not yet been discovered - the tomb of Ramesses VIII has not yet been discovered. The queens of the 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BC) are buried in the valley, and their tombs have not yet been found, While Hawass' team has not found the tomb proposed by the foundation, archaeologists have made other discoveries in the Valley of the Kings in recent years, Hawass said in a 2013 presentation at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. , a Swiss-Egyptian team discovered a new chamber filled with the mummified remains of a prince and princess in a tomb known as KV 40, which was first discovered in 1899 and led more recently by Hawass. A team of researchers found evidence of an ancient flood defense system in the Valley of the Kings.

Originally published in the journal Life Sciences.