TAA i.3.9.12

                                      –           8            –    

excavation for some time. Their predecessor had<,> according to

Custom<,> declared that there was nothing further to be found in the

valley, but there actually had in mind the possibility of finding

Tutankhamen’s tomb. since several odd fragments bearing his name

had been found in the valley, and other pieces of evidence pointed

to the likely/<i>hood of his tomb being somewhere near. They realised,

however, that if anything was to be found, the search must be

systematic and they decided that the first thing to do was to

remove all the enormous accumulation of surface debris which had

accrued from previous diggings and es/<x>cavations. This was a heavy

task, but it was essential if anything like a tomb was to be found

that they should remove all this and get/<dig> right down to

bedrock. They mapped out a triangular area within which they

hoped to find something, and they slowly worked over this ground

without finding very much<,> except at the foot of the tomb of

Rameses VI., where they came across some workmen’s huts, which had

doubtless been occupied by the men employed on the digging of one

of the neighbouring tombs.

          They did not proceed any further in this quarter, since

to excavate beneath the huts would have interfered with the entry

of visitors to the tomb of Rameses VI. They therefore left this

spot and carried on working elsewhere until they had/<a more> favourable

time. Eventually this time arrived, when they had worked over

all the other part of the triangle, and <had> done two years excavation

elsewhere in the valley. The question presented itself as to

whether, after digging in the valley for several seasons and gettin[g]

very few results, it was worth while to continue excavating there

or whether it would not be more profitable to start elsewhere.

Eventually it wad/<s> decided to devote one last season to the valley,