Ramesses II outlived his first three crown princes, his thirteenth son succeeded him, and his sons' tomb KV5 has more than 130 rooms

Ramesses II reigned from 1279 to 1213 BC. Estimates of his children run to 48 to 50 sons and 40 to 53 daughters. Four of his daughters, Bintanath, Meritamen, Nebettawy and Henuttawy, became his Great Royal Wives. His heirs kept dying. Amunherkhepeshef, the firstborn son of Queen Nefertari, was crown prince until his death in Year 25. Ramesses, the eldest son of Queen Isetnofret, held the place from Year 25 to Year 50. Khaemweset, her second son, held it from Year 50 to Year 55. After Year 55 the heir was Merneptah, the thirteenth son, who was probably in his sixties when he became king and reigned about ten years. Many of the sons who died in their father's lifetime were buried in tomb KV5. James Burton looked into it in 1825. Howard Carter used it as a dumping ground in 1902. Neither got past the first rooms. Kent Weeks and the Theban Mapping Project began clearing it in 1987, partly because of planned building work nearby, and in 1995 found long corridors lined with rooms. Most tombs in the valley have six or eight chambers. By 2006 at least 130 rooms were known and about 7 percent had been cleared. Skull fragments of Amunherkhepeshef were found and reconstructed. Merneptah's own mummy was found in the cache in the tomb of Amenhotep II. Work in KV5 continues.