KV19

The tomb lies under the cliffs on the eastern side of the Valley of the Kings, between the tombs of Thutmose IV (KV43) and Hatshepsut (KV20). Its layout is simple, a single corridor; quarrying had barely progressed into a second corridor when work stopped. At the end of the corridor an oblong pit was sunk into the floor to receive the burial, and it was covered with limestone slabs. The quarrying style and projected layout date the tomb to the Twentieth Dynasty. Its location and the size of the corridor suggest that it was initiated for a king, but traces of an original inscription on the door jambs reveal that it was intended for Ramesses VIII when he was a prince.

The exterior surfaces of the tomb are plastered and undecorated. Inside, the door jambs are completely covered by three columns of black hieroglyphs, and below them on each side is a pair of rearing cobras spitting fire. Those on the right side are named as Isis and Nephthys, and those on the left as Serket and Neith. The interior decoration is executed on a fine white plaster background. The two halves of a door are painted on either side of the entrance: the left leaf carries the hieratic text of Chapter 139 of the Book of the Dead, and the right has Chapter 123 with two extra lines. The length of the corridor is painted with seven scenes on each side, and the ceiling is plain white. The paintings are in the finest Ramesside style, and the overall scheme is similar to that seen in the tombs of princes in the Valley of the Queens.

In some places, signs of the change of ownership from Setherkhepeshef (Seth Is with His Strong Arm) to Mentuherkhepeshef (Montu Is with His Strong Arm) can still be seen, as traces of the Seth animal appear underneath the falcon symbol for Montu. Mentuherkhepeshef is shown with the sidelock of youth on his wig, wearing a fine translucent robe. On the left wall he makes offerings to Osiris, Ptah-Tatenen, Khonsemweset-Neferhotep, Bastet, Imseti, Qebehsenuef and Amun-Ra; on the right wall he makes offerings to Ptah, Thoth, Banebdjedet, Hapi, Duamutef, Meretseger and Sekhmet. As an adult son, he appears alone before the gods rather than being escorted by his father.

Giovanni Battista Belzoni rediscovered the tomb on 9 October 1817 and briefly described it, making special mention of the decoration. It was later visited by explorers and researchers including Jean-François Champollion, Karl Richard Lepsius and Eugène Lefébure. In 1903 Howard Carter excavated in front of the tomb and discovered KV60.

Edward R. Ayrton excavated KV19 in 1906. He noted in his report that the tomb had never been fully cleared, and at that time only the porch was visible, the rest being covered by debris. The tomb was found to be half filled with large blocks. Ayrton concluded that they could not have been washed in by accident, since a high drystone wall stood only 3 feet (0.91 m) from the door.