Why did New Kingdom pharaohs hide their tombs in the Valley of the Kings?
During the New Kingdom, pharaohs chose to hide their tombs in the Valley of the Kings primarily to protect their burials from tomb robbers.12
In earlier periods, the pyramid served as the standard royal tomb; however, its immense size and monumentality made it a highly visible and obvious target for looting and desecration. To counter this, New Kingdom rulers abandoned the pyramidal form in favor of rock-cut tombs carved deep into the limestone cliffs of a remote, lonely valley in western Thebes.1345
This location was chosen partly because it was dominated by a natural mountain peak that resembled a pyramid. By constructing these tombs with no outward structure—or in later periods, only a simple doorway carved into the rock face—the pharaohs sought to conceal the final resting places of their mummies and the rich funerary goods intended for their use in the afterlife.1325