The smallest royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings belongs to Tutankhamun
The first pharaohs in Egypt's history constructed towering pyramids in the northern deserts. However, this trend ended in the New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC). Now, most monarchs were interred in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile in the southern city of Thebes, where rock-cut tombs had been dug into the ground (modern-day Luxor). These tombs had unassuming doorways, but the interiors were roomy and well ornamented.
King corpses were believed to have strong spirits that could help others, and cemeteries had their special brand of tremendous magic. Tutankhamun would have had his afterlife if he had been buried with his predecessors. So it stands to reason that Tutankhamun would have preferred to rest in a magnificent tomb in either the main valley or in a branch known as the Western Valley, where his grandfather Amenhotep III was interred. Whatever his intentions, Tutankhamun was interred in a little tomb that was cut into the main valley's bottom.
Tutankhamun might have just passed away too soon to carry out his ambitious intentions. He had to be interred in a non-royal tomb because his own was incomplete. This appears implausible, though, considering other kings were able to construct adequate graves in as little as two or three years. It is much more likely that Ay, the monarch who succeeded Tutankhamun and ascended to the throne in his advanced age, made a tactical trade. Ay himself was interred in a magnificent tomb in the Western Valley, next to the tomb of Amenhotep III, just four years after Tutankhamun passed away.
Recent theories contend that Tutankhamun's tomb may contain still-undiscovered sections because of its unexpectedly tiny size. Egyptologists are currently looking into the idea that the plastered wall of his burial chamber conceals concealed chambers.
