Elusive Pharaoh Torments Historians : Egypt: Quest for the truth about Amenmesse leads to Valley of the Kings and a tomb--where he may, or may not, be buried. Dates of his rule are lost in antiquity.

Otto Schaden has spent 25 years trying to unravel the mysteries of Amenmesse, a Pharaoh who suddenly burst onto the royal scene of ancient Egypt, then just as suddenly vanished.

Historians can’t even agree on when he ruled.

Seeking the truth about the elusive Pharaoh has brought Schaden once again from the University of Arizona to the Valley of the Kings and the tomb said to have belonged to Amenmesse.

That should be the best place to look for clues, but “we don’t know if he was ever buried in it,” Schaden said.

Weather is no help.

The Amenmesse tomb, like many others in the valley, is choked with debris carried by flood waters that pour down the hillsides. Contents of one tomb often end up in another, turning history upside down.

Slowly digging and crawling, Schaden and his colleagues are only about halfway to the burial chamber.

Once there, they may discover artifacts or descriptions that reveal the tomb’s occupant, family history and important events of the day.

Or they may not. After all that work, little may be waiting for Schaden and Ted Brock of the Canadian Institute in Cairo, co-director of the expedition; Richard Wilkinson of the University of Arizona; Earl Ertman of Akron University, and illustrator Lyla Pinch-Brock of Toronto.

Archeologists had hoped the dry air and isolation of the Kings’ Valley would protect its tombs, but natural disasters, mass tourism and the valley’s fragile makeup destroyed such optimism.

“Last century, there was a lot left in the valley that’s missing today,” Brock said. “A century from now, there may be nothing left to record.”

Amenmesse’s tomb is a good example. Ten years ago, Schaden peered into it through a small hole. He saw evidence of inscriptions and wall paintings that could provide clues to the mystery king.

Today, the peephole reveals none of that.

For Schaden, the search for Amenmesse is more than an obsession with one Pharaoh. It is a love affair with the Valley of the Kings and its changing history.

The valley is a deep rift in the Theban hills across the Nile from the ancient capital Thebes, now called Luxor. Sixty-two tombs, royal and non-royal, were hewn into its limestone hills in hopes that the isolation would protect them from grave robbers.

It didn’t. Tombs were robbed repeatedly and reused. They fell prey to the whims of nature. In the early 19th Century, archeologists began disturbing history to reach treasure.

“What we see today bears no resemblance to the valley when the first kings were buried there,” Schaden said.

The greatest find in the valley was the treasure-filled tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen--King Tut--uncovered in 1922.

“After 1922, there was a tendency to think everything of value was gone,” Schaden said. “Very little has been done since.”

To understand the history of the Kings’ Valley, archeologists must find all the pieces and fit them together. Amenmesse is a missing piece.

Ancient records reveal only that a Pharaoh of that name spent about four years on the throne. He left his name on a few monuments, but later kings placed their names over his, obliterating details about him, including the dates of his rule.

“With reservations,” Schaden places Amenmesse as heir to Ramses II and his son Merneptah, who died in 1214 B.C.