Rocky valley in the western desert opposite Thebes and just west of Luxor, on the Nile in Upper Egypt, which was chosen as the royal cemetery during the New Kingdom. From 1580 BC, the tombs of the pharaohs were cut in the limestone of its walls. It actually consists of two separate valleys: the eastern valley is main cemetery of 18th-20th Dynasties while the Western (Cemetery of Monkeys/Apes) has only four tombs: Amenhotep III, Ay, and two others uninscribed (KV24-25). There are 62 total. One of the main features of the royal tombs at the Valley of the Kings was their separation from the mortuary temples which were built some distance away, in a long line at the edge of the desert. The discovery of the unspoiled tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 revealed for the first time just how lavishly these tombs were equipped.