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This chapter explores the tomb of Tausret (KV-14), one of the largest and most interesting monuments in the Valley of the Kings, and one that is key to much of our understanding of the queen's reign. Careful study of the history and decoration of this tomb by its excavator—as well as the nearby tomb of Chancellor Bay, in whose tomb the queen's sarcophagus was found—has shown a complex development that occurred over time, beginning with Tausret as queen and regent, then as pharaoh, and then, finally, as a monarch deposed or succeeded by Sethnakht, first ruler of the 20th Dynasty. The massive and extensively decorated tomb not only allows us to trace the history of the queen's reign but also holds clues to the nature of the queen's legitimation and evidence of her final demise.

This chapter looks at the scattered and sometimes enigmatic artifacts that have survived from the reign of Tausret—ranging from small items of jewelry found in the Valley of the Kings to larger two- and three-dimensional representations of the queen. Together, these artifacts and representations provide images of Tausret, or other clues, which may be analyzed in terms of their historical context or how they portray the queen and what this portrayal may tell us of the way she chose to be depicted.

The monuments in the Valley of the Kings can be preserved in the long term only by careful management of the number of visitors, the locations they visit, and the facilities provided for them. The factors to be taken into account include transportation to, from, and within the Valley; parking; waste disposal; signage; electricity, septic, and water lines; diversion of floodwater; size and location of the shopping area; sales of food and drink; construction of a comprehensive visitors center and exhibit space; security; rules for cameras; improved toilets, shelters, and rest areas; and improved protection and lighting in the tomb interiors.

Stakeholders in the Valley of the Kings include visitors, tour guides, site staff, and local communities. The views of all of these constituents were examined in a survey conducted in 2004. The study design, the survey instrument, and the data collected are described. The first stage of the survey was conducted on site. The respondents are described in terms of age, sex, nationality, frequency of visits to the Valley of the Kings, and specific tombs visited, and their opinions of the site management and the available services are reported. Their responses suggest a number of possible improvements to the visitor experience. Staff members and local residents similarly reported on their own experiences and problems. A second stage of the survey, conducted later in 2004, consisted of an online questionnaire directed to recent visitors to the Valley of the Kings.

The estimated carrying capacity of the Valley of the Kings is about a thousand visitors per hour. This is calculated with reference to parking areas, average length of visit, and waiting times at tomb entrances. Surveys of visitor numbers reveal consistent peak periods at specific times of the day. The number of visitors per day, and the flow of visitors through the site, can be controlled in several ways: allowing a maximum number of visitor in the Valley at any one time; restricting the size of tour groups; expanding the opening hours; enforcing parking restrictions; building full-size replicas of specific tombs; using a signaling system to indicate when particular tombs are temporarily full of visitors; ticketing systems that would encourage visits to less popular tombs; forbidding guides to lecture inside tombs; maps and signs; and physical barriers to control lines outside tomb entrances.

During the seventy-three days spent at Thebes during Edward William Lane's visit, he made a scrupulous immersion in Egyptology. The Valley of the Kings is a large wadi which today is clearly defined as a natural stone portal. During those two and a half months, Lane worked at most of the major Theban sites, and devoted most of his time to three places. Although he spent most of his week at Thebes, he still researched and visited all the different places at the Valley of the Kings.

This chapter focuses on the Five Walls of Pharaoh in Deir al-Medina. It first considers the possibility that movement in the necropolis area was at least partially restricted and that the workmen usually had free access to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. It then discusses the presence of checkpoints in the necropolis area to monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic, probably also in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. These checkpoints in the necropolis area have always been associated with the Five Walls of Pharaoh. In year 29 of Ramesses III, the workmen passed these checkpoints more than once in search of their rations. The chapter also examines a number of theories regarding the location of the Five Walls, including those suggested by Egyptologists Raphael Ventura, Paul John Frandsen, Andreas Dorn, and Günter Burkard.

The eighteen tombs in the Valley of the Kings that are open to visitors were surveyed for their physical condition. Data include maps, aerial photographs, interior photographs, and archival documents. Detailed information on the extent and types of damage was collected. The survey has resulted in protection plans against flooding and rainfall; an environmental monitoring system; a system of interpretive signs; an Arabic guidebook; a website (www.thebanmappingproject.com); systematic cleaning efforts; and wheelchair access to several of the tombs. Possible future projects for protecting the Valley and the individual tombs are discussed.

The isolated village of Deir el Medina, home to the men who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, is the best documented single community from pharaonic Egypt. Documents record work management, the provision and payment of wages, relations with the central state hierarchy, and the personal, legal, and commercial business of individual inhabitants. This chapter evaluates the use of texts for management by the local scribes, and the writing and holding of personal documents by members of the community. It emphasizes the role of writing as a process reinforcing the authority of resident scribes as local headmen, in both administrative function and social leadership, as well as the ephemeral nature of working documents and the very limited value of private documents as autonomous witness. No reference to effective local archive is found, and the nature of written report submitted to the central hierarchy was very general.

Any proposals regarding site management in the Valley of the Kings must be approved by a number of institutional stakeholders, which include the Office of the President, a number of government ministries, and the Luxor municipal authorities. The Antiquities Zone on the West Bank of the Nile must be divided into smaller zones for efficient administration, as the area supports several different uses (archaeological research vs. agriculture, public vs. private). The responsibilities of the staff members are not always well defined. Funding comes from a government budget allocation rather than directly from ticket revenue. A training program in Cultural Resource Management would improve both the competence and the morale of employees, with positive effects on the condition of the monuments and on the visitor experience. An overall management plan should include objectives for the site; inventory of protected items; disaster plans for fire, flood, and earthquake; and regulations that reflect current knowledge in conservation and visitor management. Infrastructure needs to be installed and maintained properly.

This chapter focuses on Maaninakhtef, the son of Naunakhte and Khaemnun. It is not clear where Maaninakhtef came in the line of succession, although when Naunakhte's children went to clear out their mother's house and took turns picking the items of their choice, he was quite often last in line. On the other hand, these were only the household goods, not the most valuable items of the lot. Maaninakhtef was part of the regular workforce, and O. Berlin P 14262 connects him with carpentry. This chapter also considers the recent archaeological excavations in the workmen's settlement in the Valley of the Kings by the Swiss team led by Andreas Dorn; these excavations have yielded multiple new practice letters on ostraca that Maaninakhtef wrote to the vizier Neferrenpet but never actually sent. Finally, it discusses the question of why the library of the scribe Qenhirkhopshef was passed on to Maaninakhtef when the latter's brother Amunnakhte died.