Royal Tomb of Akhenaten

The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten (Tomb 26) is the intended burial place of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, founder of Atenism, Egypt's short-lived monotheistic solar cult, carved into a remote desert wadi east of the ruined city of Amarna. Dating to the 14th century BCE under the 18th Dynasty, the tomb follows the structural logic of the Valley of the Kings — pure burial chambers without a surface cult chapel. One chamber was used for the burial of Princess Maketaten and preserves relief scenes that may depict Akhenaten and Nefertiti in mourning. After Akhenaten's death, the tomb was ransacked and its reliefs systematically defaced as part of the broader erasure of his religious revolution by his successors. Whether the pharaoh's mummy ever remained here or was removed remains one of Egyptology's most debated open questions.