Dra' Abu el-Naga


The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The necropolis is located near the Valley of the Kings.

History

According to the German Institute of Archeology or DAI, "Dra' Abu el-Naga is one of the longest occupied necropolis of Ancient Egypt: it was used as a burial place almost continuously between the Middle Kingdom and the early Christian periods, i.e. a period of ca. 2500 years. The oldest graves documented so far date to the end of the 11th dynasty. During the Seventeenth Dynasty and early 18th dynasty, kings and their families were interred here in small pyramid tombs such as Nubkheperre Intef, Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef, Sobekemsaf I, Ahhotep II and quite possibly both Amenhotep I and Ahmose-Nefertari in Tomb Tomb ANB. The social spectrum of the private necropolis ranges from simple burials with few grave goods to the burials of higher-ranking individuals e.g. the High Priests of Amun of Karnak and other high officials. In the early Middle Kingdom, at the end of the Second Intermediate Period and at the beginning of the New Kingdom Dra' Abu el-Naga was the site of the residence cemetery, as Thebes/Waset had at this time become the imperial capital and seat of government. Dra' Abu el-Naga's significance as a holy burial ground, which increased with the presence of the royal tomb complexes, resulted primarily from its position directly opposite the Temple of Karnak: The Temple of Karnak is known to have been the main cult centre of Amun from the Middle Kingdom and then became one of Ancient Egypt's most important temples during the New Kingdom."
During the Coptic eras, a monastery, Deir el-Bakhît, identified as the historical Theban Monastery of Saint Paulos, was built on the hilltop above the pharaonic cemetery.

Excavation

Deir el-Bakhit

The DAI in cooperation with Ludwig Maximilian University had been conducting work on the Deir el-Bakhit monastery from 2001 until at least 2004, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Günter Burkard and PD Dr. Daniel Polz.

Pharaonic-Era Tombs

According to the DAI, "Individual scenes from decorated graves, which are situated in the necropolis and date to the New Kingdom, were documented and published in 1845 during the course of the expedition led by Carl Richard Lepsius. By that point, many of the pharonic pyramids had been dismantled by stone robbers, leaving only the tombs behind. The first significant and to some extent documented excavations were undertaken by Joseph Passalacqua between 1822 and 1825 and concentrated on a number of shaft graves. Particular interest in Dra' Abu el-Naga came as a result of the discovery of three royal coffins of the Second Intermediate Period, one of which belonged to Nubkheperre Intef, which had been found by grave robbers in 1827 and then bought by the British Museum, London in 1835."
"In the years 1860 to 1862 Auguste Mariette initiated the apparently successful search of the tomb of this king. Mariette however did not document the location of the tomb and only an extremely cursive short description exists today. At the end of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century a number of ventures were undertaken in Dra' Abu el-Naga, during the course of which individual graves and grave clusters were excavated and their decoration documented."
Clarence Fisher of the University of Pennsylvania Museum led an excavation effort from 1921–1923. This included work "in the tombs of New Kingdom officials and the mortuary complex of the 18th Dynasty king Amenhotep I and his wife Nefertari " Lanny Bell continued work at this site in 1967 concentrating on "the epigraphic recording and conservation of the decorated rock-cut tombs of Dynasty 19." The work at the site provided significant artifacts for the Museum including statuary, pottery funerary furnishings and painted reliefs.
From 1991 to 2000, the DAI in cooperation with the University of California Los Angeles undertook an excavation of the area "as, up until, little was known about the architecture and composition of graves and funerary practices of the Second Intermediate Period and early New Kingdom." They in particular wanted to focus on the royal tomb complexes of the 17th dynasty, because prior to their work, "the general knowledge of these tombs was based on individual objects, which were part of their funerary equipment, but which lacked any definite provenience. Such objects were stolen from their tombs during the 19th century and then gradually found their way into the art trade and finally into various European collections. The burial complexes themselves and their exact location remained undocumented. Consequently one main objective was the localisation of these tombs, the recording of their architecture and the reconstruction of the original context of the objects, which formed part of their burial equipment."
Archeological work has been done in the area by the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid since January 2002. "The mission started focusing in and around the rock-cut tomb-chapels of Djehuty and Hery, two high officials who served under Hatshepsut and Queen Mother Ahhotep respectively, ca. 1520–1460 BCE....in 2008 the Spanish mission discovered an 11th/early 12th Dynasty burial three feet below the floor of the open courtyard of the tomb-chapel of Djehuty, including a wooden coffin painted in red with a polychrome inscription along its four sides and the lid. The mummy of its owner, called Iqer, was resting on his left side, with three staves and two bows placed along his body." 20 funerary shafts, four mudbrick offering chapels, four more rock-cut tombs from the 11th/early 12th dynasty, and a 9x7 funerary garden have been unearthed since 2011. This garden, lined with silt and lime mortar, "combined plants associated with food offerings, together with other plants that probably had an aesthetic and/or symbolic use, to be presented to the deceased as a wish for life/rebirth."
In 2023, an Egyptian mission discovered in Dra' Abu el-Naga a burial chamber with the granite sarcophagus of vizier Ankhu from the early 13th Dynasty.

Tombs and structures

Theban Necropolis

There are at least 415 cataloged tombs in the Theban Necropolis, of which Dra' Abu el-Naga is a part. Of these, the following are in Dra' Abu el-Naga specifically.

TT (Theban Tomb) 1 to 100

TT (Theban Tomb) 101 to 200

  • TT140 Kefia, also called Neferronpet, goldworker and portrait sculptor
  • TT141 Bakenkhons, wab-priest at the fore of Amun
  • TT142 Samut, overseer of works of Amun-Ra in Karnak
  • TT143 Unknown.
  • TT144 Nu, overseer of estate labor
  • TT145 Nebamon, head of bowmen
  • TT146 Nebamon, overseer of the granary of Amun, counter of grain, iny of the God's Wife
  • TT147 possibly Heby. scribe who counts the cattle of Amun of Upper and Lower Egypt, Head Elder of the portal in Karnak
  • TT148 Amenemopet, priest of Amun
  • TT149 Amenmose, royal scribe of the table of the Lord of the Two Lands, overseer of hunters of Amun
  • TT150 Userhet, overseer of cattle of Amun
  • TT151 Hety, scribe, counter of cattle of the God's Wife of Amun, steward of the God's Wife of Amun
  • TT152 Unknown.
  • TT153 Unknown.
  • TT154 Tati, cupbearer
  • TT155 Intef, great herald of the kind
  • TT156 Pennesuttawy, captain of troops, governor of the South Lands
  • TT157 Nebwenenef, high priest of Amun
  • TT158 Thonefer, third prophet of Amun
  • TT159 Raia, fourth priest of Amun
  • TT160 Besenmut, true king's acquaintance
  • TT161 Nakht, bearer of floral offerings of Amun
  • TT162 Kenamon, mayor of Thebes, overseer of the granary of Amun
  • TT163 Amenemhat, mayor of Thebes, royal scribe
  • TT164 Intef, scribe of recruits
  • TT165 Nehemaway, goldsmith
  • TT166 Ramose, overseer of works in Karnak, overseer of cattle
  • TT167 Unknown.
  • TT168 Any, Divine Father clean of hands, chosen lector of the lord of the gods
  • TT169 Senena, head goldsmith of Amun

TT (Theban Tomb) 201 to 300

  • TT231 Nebamun, scribe, counter of grain of Amun in the granary of divine offerings
  • TT232 Tharwas, scribe of the divine seal of the Amun treasury
  • TT233 Saroy and Amenhotep, Royal Scribe of the offering table of the Lord of the Two Lands, Royal Scribe of the king's repast, Keeper of the royal documents in the presence, Leader of the Festival, Cattle Counter in the Estate of Amun, Royal Messenger to the hill country, Overseer of the hunters of Amun
  • TT234 Roy, mayor
  • TT236 Hornakht, second prophet of Amun and overseer of the treasury of Amun
  • TT237 Wennefer, chief lector-priest
  • TT241 Ahmose, Scribe of divine writings, Child of the nursery, Head of the mysteries in the House of the morning
  • TT255 Roy, Royal Scribe, Steward of the estates of Horemheb and Amun
  • TT260 User, Scribe, Weigher of Amun, overseer of fields of Amun
  • TT261 Khaemwaset, wab-priest of Amenhotep I
  • TT262 Unknown. overseer of fields
  • TT282 Nakhtmin (Troop Commander) Head of the bowmen, Overseer of the South Lands
  • TT283 Roma, also called Roy, high priest of Amun
  • TT284 Pahemnetjer, scribe of offerings of all gods
  • TT285 Iny, head of the magazines of Mut
  • TT286 Niay, scribe of the table
  • TT287 Pendua, wab-priest of Amun
  • TT288 Bakenkhons, scribe of divine book of Khons
  • TT289 Setau, viceroy of Kush, overseer of the South Lands, chief bowman of Kush
  • TT293 Ramessesnakht, high priest of Amun
  • TT300 Anhotep, viceroy of Kush

TT (Theban Tomb) 301 to 400

  • TT301 Hori, scribe of the table of Pharaoh in the Amun domain
  • TT302 Paraemheb, overseer of the magazine
  • TT303 Paser, head of the magazine of Amun, Third Prophet of Amun
  • TT304 Piay, scribe of the offering-table of Amun, scribe of the Lord of the Two Lands
  • TT305 Paser, wab-priest in front of Amun
  • TT306 Irdjanen, door-opener of the Amun domain
  • TT307 Thonefer
  • TT332 Penrenutet, chief watchman of the granary of the Amun domain
  • TT333 and TT334 both unknown.
  • TT344 Piay, overseer of the cattle
  • TT375, TT376, TT377, TT378, and TT379, all unknown
  • TT393 and TT396 unknown
  • TT394 and TT395 unknown

TT (Theban Tomb) 401 to 415

  • TT401 Nebseni, overseer of goldsmiths of Amun
  • TT402 unknown

Tombs discovered then became lost

  • Tomb A.1 Amenemhet, ka-servant
  • Tomb A.2 "Tomb of the Dancers"
  • Tomb A.3 Ruru, chief of the Medjay
  • Tomb A.4 Si-User, scribe, mayor of the southern city, overseer of the granary
  • Tomb A.5 Neferhotep, overseer of granaries
  • Tomb A.6 Djehutinefer, overseer of marshlands of the Lord of the Two Lands
  • Tomb A.7 Amenhotep, scribe
  • Tomb A.8 Amenemhab, royal scribe, steward in the mansion of Amenhotep I on the west of Thebes
  • Tomb A.9 unknown
  • Tomb A.10 Djehutynefer, overseer of the treasury
  • Tomb A.24 Simut, second priest of Amun

Kampp Tombs

These are tombs that have been discovered and excavated by Friederike Kampp-Seyfried and have been given their designation after her.

Other tombs