
The Valley of the Kings
The History of Ancient Egypt's Most Famous Tombs and Burial Site
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Colin Fluxman
About this listen
Africa gave rise to the first humans, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world's first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world. With world-famous leaders like King Tut and Cleopatra, it's no wonder that today's world has so many Egyptologists.
Given the abundance of funerary artifacts that have been found within the sands of Egypt, it sometimes seems as though the ancient Egyptians were more concerned with the matters of the afterlife than they were with matters of the life they experienced from day to day. One of the most abundant sources of these funerary artifacts is the Valley of the Kings, a royal necropolis located on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes. Here, pharaohs of the New Kingdom Period were buried in elaborate, treasure-filled tombs that were cut deep into the cliffs that walled the Nile Valley.
In many of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, intricate reliefs were painted on the walls that depicted the sun god and the dead king on their nightly journey through the underworld, which was known in Egyptian as the Duat (Wilkinson 2003, 82). These scenes, which vary slightly from tomb to tomb, are known collectively by modern scholars as The Book of Gates because they depict the sun god’s journey through 12 gates or pylons, one for each hour of the night (Wilkinson 2003, 81). As the sun god and the dead king travel through the night, they have to contend with various demons and a giant snake known as Apophis (Lesko 1991, 119). The Egyptians believed this journey was cyclical, as they viewed time itself, so it took place daily (Lesko 1991, 119).
Though these tombs have been extensively plundered, they still stand as gateways to the afterlife that provide a murky window into the past of a fascinating civilization. Most importantly, the relatively untouched tomb of the young King Tutankhamun offered clear insight. Many of the objects that were discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb were clearly made specifically for him and his burial, such as the coffins, funerary masks, canopic equipment and statues. Other objects, such as the furniture, clothing, and chariots, were obviously items that had been used during Tutankhamun’s lifetime. The motifs found upon many of his possessions depicted him in triumph over his enemies. For example, a painted wooden chest bears a fine example of such a scene; the king is shown in his chariot, followed by his troops, attacking a group of Nubians. Scenes depicting aggression and triumph over Egypt's enemies by Egypt's king are classical examples of Egyptian kingship.
©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2016 Charles River EditorsListeners also enjoyed...
-
Crocodile on the Sandbank
- The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Peters
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amelia Peabody inherited two things from her father: a considerable fortune and an unbendable will. The first allowed her to indulge in her life's passion. Without the second, the mummy's curse would have made corpses of them all.
-
-
Nice break from the usual-
- By Carrie on 12-18-04
By: Elizabeth Peters
-
The Eleusinian Mysteries
- The History of Ancient Greece's Most Famous Religious Rites
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Kenneth Ray
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ancient Greece and its mythology has fascinated people for thousands of years, and few elements have intrigued people quite like the Eleusinian Mysteries, which the Greeks believed transformed the initiates and gave them knowledge that eased both the living of life on earth and allayed fears of death, allowing an acceptance of their ultimate fate. The influence of the Eleusinian Mysteries was also far-reaching.
-
-
Not worth a credit or the price
- By James I. Ruff on 08-31-21
-
The Book of the Dead
- The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Famous Funerary Texts
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 1 hr and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Given the abundance of funerary artifacts that have been found within the sands of Egypt, it sometimes seems as though the Ancient Egyptians were more concerned with the matters of the afterlife than they were with matters of the life they experienced from day to day. This is underscored most prominently by the pyramids, which have captured the world’s imagination for centuries.
-
-
Love it!!! Learned a lot in such a short time.
- By gab g on 02-09-23
-
Magicians of the Gods
- The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth’s Lost Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Graham Hancock's multi-million bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods remains an astonishing, deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earth's lost civilization. Twenty years on, Hancock returns with the sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new scientific and archaeological evidence, which has only recently come to light.
-
-
"Brilliant" is an understatement.
- By Brian on 11-13-15
By: Graham Hancock
-
The 12th Planet
- The Earth Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Zecharia Sitchin
- Narrated by: Bill Jenkins
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to Sumerian scholar Zecharia Sitchin, a superior race of beings once inhabited our world. In The 12th Planet—the product of 30 years of intensive research—Sitchin persuasively argues that humanity sprang from extraterrestrial forebears. In this remarkable account, you'll hear the story of how these ancient visitors traveled to Earth from the stars and planted the genetic seed that would ultimately blossom into a remarkable species—the human being.
-
-
Very, VERY abridged!
- By Jill on 06-17-11
By: Zecharia Sitchin
-
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
-
-
Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
-
Crocodile on the Sandbank
- The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Peters
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amelia Peabody inherited two things from her father: a considerable fortune and an unbendable will. The first allowed her to indulge in her life's passion. Without the second, the mummy's curse would have made corpses of them all.
-
-
Nice break from the usual-
- By Carrie on 12-18-04
By: Elizabeth Peters
-
The Eleusinian Mysteries
- The History of Ancient Greece's Most Famous Religious Rites
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Kenneth Ray
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ancient Greece and its mythology has fascinated people for thousands of years, and few elements have intrigued people quite like the Eleusinian Mysteries, which the Greeks believed transformed the initiates and gave them knowledge that eased both the living of life on earth and allayed fears of death, allowing an acceptance of their ultimate fate. The influence of the Eleusinian Mysteries was also far-reaching.
-
-
Not worth a credit or the price
- By James I. Ruff on 08-31-21
-
The Book of the Dead
- The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Famous Funerary Texts
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 1 hr and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Given the abundance of funerary artifacts that have been found within the sands of Egypt, it sometimes seems as though the Ancient Egyptians were more concerned with the matters of the afterlife than they were with matters of the life they experienced from day to day. This is underscored most prominently by the pyramids, which have captured the world’s imagination for centuries.
-
-
Love it!!! Learned a lot in such a short time.
- By gab g on 02-09-23
-
Magicians of the Gods
- The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth’s Lost Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Graham Hancock's multi-million bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods remains an astonishing, deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earth's lost civilization. Twenty years on, Hancock returns with the sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new scientific and archaeological evidence, which has only recently come to light.
-
-
"Brilliant" is an understatement.
- By Brian on 11-13-15
By: Graham Hancock
-
The 12th Planet
- The Earth Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Zecharia Sitchin
- Narrated by: Bill Jenkins
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to Sumerian scholar Zecharia Sitchin, a superior race of beings once inhabited our world. In The 12th Planet—the product of 30 years of intensive research—Sitchin persuasively argues that humanity sprang from extraterrestrial forebears. In this remarkable account, you'll hear the story of how these ancient visitors traveled to Earth from the stars and planted the genetic seed that would ultimately blossom into a remarkable species—the human being.
-
-
Very, VERY abridged!
- By Jill on 06-17-11
By: Zecharia Sitchin
-
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
-
-
Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
-
The Woman Who Would Be King
- Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
- By: Kara Cooney
- Narrated by: Kara Cooney
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hatshepsut - the daughter of a general who usurped Egypt's throne and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty - was born into a privileged position in the royal household, and she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father's family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her improbable rule as a cross-dressing king.
-
-
Overt Agenda
- By Kindle Customer on 04-14-19
By: Kara Cooney
-
The First Signs
- Unlocking the Mysteries of the World's Oldest Symbols
- By: Genevieve von Petzinger
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most significant works on our evolutionary ancestry since Richard Leakey's Origins, The First Signs is the first-ever exploration of the geometric images that accompany most cave art around the world—the first indications of symbolic meaning, intelligence, and language.
-
-
Crawling through caves-a memoir
- By GraceAgnes on 01-27-21
-
Lost Civilizations
- 10 Societies That Vanished without a Trace
- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether it is Plato's lost city of Atlantis, a technological advanced utopia that sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune"; the colony of Roanoke, whose early American settlers were swallowed up in the wild forest lands of the unexplored continent, or the Ancient American Explorers, who managed to arrive to the New World 2,000 years before Columbus, the disappearance of these societies is as cryptic as it is implausible. This book will look at cultures of the 10 greatest lost civilizations in history.
-
-
Another Great Book from Michael Rank
- By MICHAEL H on 07-17-14
By: Michael Rank
-
Discovering the City of Sodom
- The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City
- By: Dr Steven Collins, Dr. Latayne C. Scott
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fascinating, true account of the quest for one of the Old Testament’s most infamous cities. Like many modern-day Christians, Dr. Steven Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history - a crisis of faith that inspired him to put both his education and the Bible to the test by embarking on an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology.
-
-
What a wonderful accidental discovery!
- By W on 07-22-13
By: Dr Steven Collins, and others
-
Egyptian Mythology
- Captivating Stories of the Gods, Goddesses, Monsters and Mortals
- By: Matt Clayton
- Narrated by: JD Kelly
- Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book on Egyptian mythology is part of the best-selling series, Norse Mythology - Egyptian Mythology - Greek Mythology. In this ultimate guide on Egyptian mythology, you will discover captivating stories of the gods, goddesses, monsters, and mortals.
-
-
No lo vale
- By fer on 02-09-23
By: Matt Clayton
-
The Ark Before Noah
- Decoding the Story of the Flood
- By: Irving Finkel
- Narrated by: Irving Finkel, Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the Victorian period, it has been understood that the story of Noah, iconic in the Book of Genesis, and a central motif in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, derives from a much older story that existed centuries before in ancient Babylon. But the relationship between the Babylonian and biblical traditions was shrouded in mystery. Then, in 2009, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum and a world authority on ancient Mesopotamia, found himself playing detective.
-
-
excellent, enlightening, entertaining
- By D. Littman on 07-17-14
By: Irving Finkel
-
The Lost Empire of Atlantis
- History's Greatest Mystery Revealed
- By: Gavin Menzies
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling historian Gavin Menzies presents newly uncovered evidence revealing, conclusively, that “the lost city of Atlantis” was not only real but also at the heart of a highly advanced global empire that reached the shores of America before being violently wiped from the earth. For three millennia, the legend of Atlantis has gripped the imaginations of explorers, philosophers, occultists, treasure hunters, historians, and archaeologists. Until now, it has remained shrouded in myth. Yet, like ancient Troy, is it possible that this fabled city actually existed?
-
-
Absolutely abominable!
- By Magdalene on 03-05-18
By: Gavin Menzies
-
Odyssey of the Gods
- The History of Extraterrestrial Contact in Ancient Greece
- By: Erich von Däniken
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Legendary UFO expert Erich von Daniken stirs up another controversy with an imaginative supposition: What if the myths of ancient Greece were attempts to describe events that really happened? What if ancient peoples were visited, not by imaginary gods and goddesses, but by extraterrestrial beings who arrived on earth thousands of years ago? The author's research into both ancient mythology and current archaeological discoveries leads him to some explosive hypotheses.
-
-
Good Research, but Draw Your Own Conclusions
- By Troy on 07-18-13
-
The Lost Civilization Enigma
- A New Inquiry into the Existence of Ancient Cities, Cultures, and Peoples Who Pre-Date Recorded History
- By: Philip Coppens
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are history books giving us the whole story? Or is civilization far more complex and for older than we have been taught? Our school textbooks barely mention the 6,000-year-old Sumerian civilization, yet the latest archaeological findings at sites such as Jericho, and most recently, Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, have been dated to 10,000 BC. Civilization goes back at least another 10,000 years, if we are willing to believe what our ancestors themselves claimed.
-
-
Large parts of history are still unknown
- By Joseph on 11-18-12
By: Philip Coppens
-
The Sign and the Seal
- The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 21 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fate of the Lost Ark of the Covenant is one of the great historical mysteries of all time. The Bible contains hundreds of references to the Ark's power, but the Ark itself mysteriously disappears from recorded history sometime after the building of the Temple of Solomon. After 10 years of searching through the dusty archives of Europe and the Middle East, Graham Hancock has succeeded where scores of others have failed. This intrepid journalist has tracked down the true story behind the myths and legends - revealing where the Ark is today, how it got there, and why it remains hidden.
-
-
Ridiculous.
- By D. MacNair on 11-09-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
The Jesus Papers
- Exposing the Greatest Cover-up in History
- By: Michael Baigent
- Narrated by: Michael Baigent
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if everything you think you know about Jesus is wrong? In The Jesus Papers, Michael Baigent reveals the truth about Jesus's life and crucifixion. Despite, or rather because of, all the celebration and veneration that have surrounded the figure of Jesus for centuries, Baigent asserts that Jesus and the circumstances leading to his death have been heavily mythologized.
-
-
More for History, Less for facts
- By Brett Weathersby on 05-21-06
By: Michael Baigent
-
Confessions of an Egyptologist
- Lost Libraries, Vanished Labyrinths & the Astonishing Truth Under the Saqqara Pyramids
- By: Erich von Daniken
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book, Erich von Däniken shares the story of his friend Adel H., an Egyptologist who, as a 16-year-old boy, was trapped for days under the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. Based on his conversations with Adel H., he retells the boy's search for a way out of the underground world, how the boy roamed passageways and chambers and saw what he calls "impossible" things of which the professional world is completely unaware.
-
-
Profoundly Transformative Potential Here
- By Louise Kohler on 02-16-25