Tombs of Beni Hassan - Egyptology - Luxor

Tombs of Beni Hassan - Luxor

About the Tombs of Beni Hassan ‎

Situated about 20 kilometers to the South of the city Al Minya, located 245 ‎kilometers to the South of Cairo, the tombs of Beni Hassan are carved into some ‎limestone hills on the East Bank of the Nile.‎

This necropolis is called Beni Hasan and it was established and used to burry the ‎dead bodies of the provinces rulers during the Middle Kingdom on the ruins of a ‎much older burial site that was in use during the period of the Old Kingdom. ‎

The burial chamber of Beni Hassan dates back to the Middle Kingdom in the period ‎of from the year 2055 until 1650 BC. This necropolis belonged to the military ‎leaders and local rulers who chose to be buried in their provinces because of their ‎growing power and independence rather than being buried near their kings in ‎Saqqara.‎

The necropolis of Beni Hassan reflects the political differences between the ‎provinces rulers and the Pharaohs kings. When the Pharaoh king became weaker the ‎power of the rulers of provinces and the local governors increased automatically and ‎vise versa.‎

when the Pharaoh King declared the centerlization of the power and assigned a ‎governor for each region, the power of these local rulers and governers became mesh ‎less.‎

Due to their more elaborate layout and more complex decorations the tombs of Beni ‎Hassan mark a transition stage in the style of the tombs from the Old Kingdom to ‎the New Kingdom. ‎

The journey to the Toms of Beni Hassan can be organized as a one day trip from ‎Cairo to view the tombs and the historical sites of Hermopolis and Tell El Amarna, ‎the center of the cult of Aton which was established by Ikhnton in the 14th century ‎BC. ‎

Situated to the South of the city of Al Minya, Beni Hassan is just another small ‎village located in beginning of the region of Upper Egypt. The Tombs of Beni ‎Hassan, the same as many other historical necropolises in Egypt, are reached using a ‎staircase made of stones to arrive in the hillside where the tombs are located.‎

The Necropolis of Beni Hassan hosts a large number of tombs. However, there are ‎only thirty tombs that are important and contain attractive decorations and layout. ‎

These tombs are all situated on the same height and the entrances to the tombs are ‎located on the same plateau. The ancient Egyptian paintings and drawings, with ‎exciting themes and everlasting brightful colors, coat 12 of the tombs of Beni ‎Hassan. ‎

In some of these tombs, the mountains were cut to make the facades of the tombs ‎appear in the same level accurately as many of the ancient Egyptian pieces of art. ‎

However, due to many conditions, some of the colors of the tombs were lost and ‎many of the columns constructed inside them were damaged. Overall many of the ‎tombs of Beni Hassan are still worth visiting.‎

The Distinctive Features of the Tombs of Beni Hassan ‎

Although the Necroplis of Beni Hassan hosts around 39 tombs dating mostly to the ‎Middle Kingdom, only four out of them are open to public, plus another tomb which ‎has no decorations. ‎

The tombs of Beni Hassan are quite distinctive than any other historical necropolis ‎this is because it enable the guests to view unique style of decoration that was ‎common in the Middle Kingdom specially the bright colored wall paintings.‎

Moreover, almost all the burial sites of ancient Egypt were established in the West ‎Bank of the Nile, as the Pharaohs thought that this was the City of the Living, while ‎the East Bank was the City of the Living. ‎

This is another unique feature about the Tombs of Beni Hassan as they were dug on ‎East Bank of the Nile different than any other historical necropolis of ancient Egypt. ‎

Many excavation missions have explored the Tombs of Beni Hassan as early as the ‎end of the 19th century as the Necroplis was studied by the Egypt Exploration Fund ‎that made a great job in the area ‎

Moreover, the British Archeologist, John Garstang, unearthed some of the tombs ‎that belong to the 6th and the 7th dynasties and many of the Tombs by Beni Hassan ‎were restored by the Egyptian Antiquities Authority in the beginning of the 20th ‎century.‎

The Tomb of Baqet ‎

Although the Tomb of Baqet was numbered as the 15th tomb of Beni Hassan, BH15, ‎it was the first tomb to be excavated in the historical necropolis of Beni Hassan. The ‎owner of the tomb was the governor of the El Minya during reign of the 6th dynasty, ‎during the beginning of the 21st century BC. ‎

The tomb of Baqet has a simple façade with no decorations or architectural features ‎to be noted while the tomb itself has a rectangular shape that was cut out of rock ‎with two pillars that has the popular shape of the lotus plant.‎

The walls situated in the Northern section of the tomb host many remarkable ‎paintings displaying the owner of the tomb during his daily life activities. Since ‎Baqet was the ruler of a province during the ruling period, he is represented hunting ‎for animals in the deserts of El Minya, chasing birds, and doing his daily life duties ‎as a ruler.‎

On the other hand, the walls located in the Eastern section of the tomb display some ‎scenes of different battles that took place in the region during the period of the 6th ‎dynasty, a common feature of funerary paintings during this period.‎

The Southern wall of the tomb, the most traditional among its walls, contains scenes ‎from the burial of Baqet plus some other scenes of the owner of the tomb playing ‎sports and sitting with his family members.‎

The Tomb of Khety‎

Khety, the son of Baqet, worked in the same position as his father, a ruler of a ‎province situated near the city of El Minya. Maybe this was why the plan and the ‎design of his tomb looks quite like that of his father. ‎

The Tomb of Khety is featured with its six lotus shaped columns and its rectangular ‎shape, the same as that of Baqet. The paintings of the walls located in the Eastern ‎and the Northern sections of the tomb display Khety during his hunting trips in the ‎deserts of the reign. ‎

There are also some scenes of the owner of the tomb, accompanied by his wife, ‎supervising the activites taking place in the province they were rulling. This ‎included some scenes of women singing and dancing. ‎

The Eastern wall of the tomb has some scenes of soldiers practicing to participate in ‎battles. The ancient Egyptian artist who brilliantly created this wall showed the ‎movement of the soldiers wonderfully by using different shades to show how each ‎soldier moved during his trainings. ‎

The wall located in the Southern section of the tomb shows Khety supervising the ‎process of making wine and there are some burial rituals displayed in this section as ‎well.‎

The Tomb of Amenmehat ‎

Amenmehat lived during the ruling period of the 7th period and maybe this was why ‎the plan of his tomb is rather more complicated and the walls are more decorative ‎and better crafted. Even the age of Amenmehat can be better indetified and so is his ‎biography. ‎

Amenmehat had was the last to be entitled with an important royal name as he was ‎working as an official in a period when the governing system of Egypt was more ‎centralized and Amnenmehat used to report to the government in the capital of ‎Egypt at the time.‎

The design of the tomb of Amenmehat consists of a central courtyard and only two ‎pillars before the entrance to the main chapel of the tomb which is in the shape of a ‎recantgle but with a bigger space.‎

The walls of the tomb of Amenmehat have paintings that look like other tombs in ‎Beni Hassan that were constructed earlier. The main theme of the paintings include ‎Amenmehat in different military and daily life activities. ‎

The Southern wall has a scene of the owner of the tomb sitting with his wife at a ‎large table with many goods that were produced in the lands that he governed. ‎

There are also some remains of a statues of Amenmahat, his wife, and his mother ‎presenting the gods with offerings, a feature that was common during eralire tombs ‎in Beni Hassan ‎