The riverscape of Aswan is dominated by the sand-covered hills of the
West Bank which is strewn with rock-cut tombs of high-status officials
of the Old and Middle Kingdom. At the crest of the hill is the domed
tomb of a Muslim prophet which gives the hill its local name, Qubbet
el-Hawa or 'Dome of the Winds'.
The ticket office is to the northern end of the tomb area and a steep
climb up several flights of stone steps leads to the upper level of
the cemetery where there are around 6 or 7 tombs open to visitors. The
guide will usually begin at the southern end of the upper level where
the most interesting tombs can be seen. These ancient tombs are
roughly cut from the natural rock, and though they are not as well
preserved as some of those to be visited in the Luxor or Cairo areas
they are well worth seeing. Tombs of this period are usually fairly
inaccessible in most places south of Cairo and these show fine
examples of hieroglyphic texts detailing the careers of their owners
as well as scenes of daily life in the earlier periods. Many of the
tombs are linked together as family members added their own chambers. |
Tombs 25/26: Sabni and Mekhu
The owners of these tombs were father and son, both Overseers of Upper
Egypt in Dynasty VI during the reign of Pepy II. Reliefs on the walls
of Mekhu's tomb record his murder while on an expedition in Nubia and
the revenge taken by Sabni, his son. He seems to have been buried with
much ceremony. The tombs were roughly constructed in Old Kingdom
style, with small obelisks at the entrance doorway and an offering
table of Mekhu still in situ.
Tomb 31: Sarenput II
The next major tomb in the sequence is that of Sarenput II, Overseer
of the Priests of Khnum and Commander of the Garrison at Elephantine,
dated to the reign of Dynasty XII king, Amenemhet II. This is one of
the best preserved tombs at Aswan. It consists of a large chamber with
six perfectly symmetrical undecorated pillars and a gallery flanked by
six niches each once containing mummiform statues of the deceased
prince. The four pillars of a second chamber were decorated with
images of Sarenput. Beyond this, a chapel cut deep into the rock is
plastered and painted in vivid colours and depicts his wife, a
Priestess of Hathor and other family members. In the niche at the back
of the chapel Sarenput is named as 'Hereditary Lord'. This
biographical text is very colourful with well-depicted hieroglyphs and
shows the cartouche of 'Nebkaure' - Amenemhet II as well as an unusual
glyph of an elephant. The style of painting and the hieroglyphs are
distinctly similar to the Old Kingdom tombs, leading some
Egyptologists to suggest that the same artists decorated them and that
the length of the 1st Intermediate Period was therefore very short.
Tomb 31: Khunes
This is a Dynasty VI tomb, its owner Khunes was a Lector Priest and
Chancellor. A side chamber to the left of the entrance was re-used as
a Coptic cell and another chamber on an upper level was a serdab. The
tomb contains scenes of the deceased and his family in daily life.
Tomb 31: Harkhuf
Harkhuf was an Overseer of Foreign Troops during the reigns of Pepy I,
Merenre and Pepy II in Dynasty VI. This tomb is famous for Harkhuf's
biographical text and a copy of a letter from Pepy II requesting that
Harkhuf should hurry to bring the young king a dancing pigmy from an
expedition into Africa.
Tomb 35: Pepynakht (also called Heqa-ib)
The owner of this tomb was another Overseer of Foreign Troops during
the reign of Pepy II of Dynasty VI. The tomb has a columned
façade, biographical texts and good reliefs showing hunting
and bull-fighting scenes. Heqa-ib was the deified official whose cult
chapel stood on Elephantine Island.
Tomb 36: Sarenput I
The last major tomb on the upper level dates from Dynasty XII and the
reign of Senwosret I. Sarenput I was a Governor of Elephantine and
Overseer of the Priests of Satis. A columned court has scenes on the
rear walls of the deceased hunting and fishing with his dogs and his
sandal-bearer. In a hall with four columns there are scenes of daily
life, a boating scene and a biographical text with finely painted
hieroglyphs. A chamber at the rear of the tomb has a 'false door'.
Note the causeways which run down the hillside from the different
cemetery levels. These would have been the original 'paths' to the
tombs and coffins and burial goods would have been dragged up these
steep inclines from the river. At night the whole cemetery area is
floodlit and can be seen from all over Aswan.
The tombs are mostly quite deep in the hillside and therefore very
dark. Flash photography is not usually allowed. |
