Why the Valley of the Kings is special
Most of the pharaohs of the 18th and 19th Dynasties in the New Kingdom (circa 1570-1080 BC) were interred in the parched Valley of the Kings, near Luxor and the Nile River in Egypt.
The individual royal tombs were chiseled deep into steep, solid-rock slopes and, after the burial ceremonies, "permanently" sealed.

Tomb robbers
It didn't take tomb robbers long to pilfer the buried treasures that the mummified pharaohs were supposed to take on their voyage to the next world.

King Tut’s tomb
The ancient robbers somehow missed the tomb of the then insignificant pharaoh Tutankhamun (popularly known today as King Tut). It lay undisturbed in the Valley of the Kings for over 3,000 years until British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered it in 1922. Most of the found treasures are now on exhibit in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but the burial chamber (see photo) still contains King Tut's mummy encased in his outermost coffin inside the stone sarcophagus.

Decorative tombs
Archaeologists have retrieved few treasures made of gold and precious stones elsewhere in the Valley of the Kings, but many captivating paintings and hieroglyphics on the tomb walls survive. Those in the tomb of Seti I are particularly outstanding.

What leading travel books say about the Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings was intended as the ultimate insurance policy on life eternal.
Egypt
Rough Guides

Most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were robbed during the lifetime of the deceased pharaoh's successors.
Egypt
Insight Compact Guides