Egypt historian uncovers ‘underground paradise’ 138 metres below Valley of the Kings

KV17, located in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, is the tomb of the Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It was first discovered by Giovanni Battista Belzoni on October 16, 1817, but has been closed since the early 1960s due to significant damage to the structure. However, historian Bettany Hughes was granted special access during the filming of her Channel 5 show “Egypt’s Greatest Treasures”.

She told viewers last month: “Hidden within this rocky terrain are 63 tombs and they’re just the ones that we have found so far.

“They include the tombs of the most famous Pharaoh’s in Egyptian history, Tutankhamun, The Boy King, Ramses the Great and Ramses III.

“But the grandest tomb of all belonged to Pharaoh Seti I and that’s the one I want to show you now.

“Seti was the father of our old friend, Ramses II, or Ramses the Great and he was a hugely successful Pharaoh and his tomb is suitably magnificent.

“For years, the tomb has been closed to make it safe for visitors, but now I’m being given special access to this spectacular resting place by archaeologist Bahar Kebir.”

Dr Hughes then made her way down a long walkway, before entering a marvellous tomb.

She added: “Gosh, I can already tell this is going really, really deep down.

“This is the largest, deepest and most lavish tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

“Not surprising perhaps, since Seti I was one of the most powerful men on Earth.

“It is incredible, everywhere you look there’s a decoration, there’s inscription, it’s a huge amount of information that’s being given here.”

Mr Bahar then explained to Dr Hughes how the ancient Pharaoh made this tomb his own paradise.

He detailed: “It’s really long, 138 metres.

“Even the column, you will see the beautiful decorations representing the king with different gods and goddesses.

“There’s Horus, the son of Osiris and look at the relation between the king and the god himself, he dreamed one day that he would be alive again with Osiris.

“When they decided to build a tomb, they cut the tomb out of the rock to live forever.

“So he dreamed that his second life would be here, all these inscriptions, all these beautiful details say ‘I will live here in my paradise.’”

During the same show, Dr Hughes also opened a mystery box inside Tutankhamen’s tomb on camera for the first time.

However she did not get the find she was hoping for,

She admitted: “Sadly, the box is empty.