Located in Middle Egypt, the Tombs of the Nobles at Amarna are the burial places of some of the powerful courtiers and persons of the city of Akhetaten.
The tombs are in two groups, cut into the cliffs and bluffs in the east of the dry bay of Akhetaten. There are 25 major tombs, many of them decorated and with their owners name, some are small and unfinished, others modest and unassuming. Each seems to reflect the personality and patronage of the tomb's original owner.
These tombs are located in two groups in the cliffs overlooking the city of Akhetaten, to the north and east of the city. They are split into two groups by a wadi, and are near one of the Boundary Stelae (Stela V).
Tomb number | Owner | Title | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Amarna Tomb 1 | Huya [1] | Steward of Queen Tiye | |
Amarna Tomb 2 | Meryre II [2] | Overseer of the houses in the royal quarters of the Great Royal Wife Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti | |
Amarna Tomb 3 | Ahmes [1] | Sealbearer of the King of Lower Egypt, Steward in the house of Akhenaten | |
Amarna Tomb 4 | Meryra (also called Meryre I) [2] | Greatest of seers of the Aten in Akhetaten | Incomplete. Had it been completed, it would have been the largest of the noble's tombs. |
Amarna Tomb 5 | Penthu [1] | First servant of the Aten in the mansion of the Aten in Akhetaten, Chief of physicians, chamberlain | The tomb was cross-shaped, containing a long outer hall, and a long transverse hall, containing the burial shaft and a now destroyed shrine to Penthu. Only the outer hall is decorated. |
Amarna Tomb 6 | Panehsy [2] | First servant of the Aten in the house of Aten in Akhetaten | This was originally a two-roomed tomb; each of the rooms had four columns. Later reuse as a Coptic church has changed the layout and damaged the original decoration. |
At a short distance to the west and north of the Northern Tombs lie the remains of three large mud-brick solar altars in the form of platforms with ramps. The reason for their location is not clear. Their connection with an ancient road leading to the Northern Tombs would seem to be a sign that they were for the benefit of those buried in them.
The southern tombs are located in a series of low bluffs south and east of the main city. Associated with these tombs a recently discovered workers cemetery has been found. [3]
Tomb number | Owner | Title | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Amarna Tomb 7 | Parennefer [4] | Cupbearer of the king's Person | Parennefer had another tomb in Thebes, TT188 |
Amarna Tomb 7a,b,c | Unknown [1] [4] | Small unfinished tombs located near Tomb 7. | |
Amarna Tomb 8 | Tutu [4] | Chamberlain of the Lord of the Two Lands, etc. | |
Amarna Tomb 9 | Mahu [1] | Chief of the Medjay (police) of Akhetaten | |
Amarna Tomb 9a,b,c | Unknown [1] | Small unfinished tombs located near Tomb 9. | |
Amarna Tomb 10 | Ipy [1] | King's scribe, the overseer of the large inner palace of the pharaoh | |
Amarna Tomb 11 | Ramose [1] | Scribe of Recruits, General of the Lord of the Two Lands | |
Amarna Tomb 12 | Nakhtpaaten | Hereditary prince, count, sealbearer, overseer of the city and vizier, etc. | |
Amarna Tomb 13 | Neferkheperuhesekheper [1] | Mayor of Akhetaten | |
Amarna Tomb 14 | May [4] | General of the Lord of the Two Lands, etc. | |
Amarna Tomb 15 | Suti [1] | Standard-bearer of the company of Neferkheprure-Waenre (Akhenaten) | |
Amarna Tomb 16 | unknown | ||
Amarna Tomb 17 | unknown | ||
Amarna Tomb 18 | unknown [4] | Only the facade of the tomb was completed | |
Amarna Tomb 19 | Satau [4] | Treasurer of the Lord of the Two Lands | |
Amarna Tomb 20 | unknown [4] | The lintel shows the royal family adoring the Aten | |
Amarna Tomb 21 | unknown [4] | ||
Amarna Tomb 22 | unknown [4] | The lintel shows the royal family adoring the Aten | |
Amarna Tomb 23 | Any [4] | Scribe of the offering table of the Lord of the Two Lands, Steward of the House of Aakheprure (Amenhotep II), etc. | |
Amarna Tomb 24 | Paatenemheb [4] | General of the Lord of the Two Lands, Steward of the Lord of the Two Lands | |
Amarna Tomb 25 | Ay [4] | Fanbearer on the right of the King, God's Father, The commander of all the horses of his Person | Ay was a future pharaoh of Ancient Egypt |
Southern Tomb 25a [4] | Ia (?) |
Some of the tombs have obviously been open since antiquity, and have been used variously as burial places in the Ptolemaic times, storehouses, houses and as Coptic churches.[ citation needed ]
Amarna is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city of Akhetaten was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and abandoned shortly after his death in 1332 BC. The name that the ancient Egyptians used for the city is transliterated as Akhetaten or Akhetaton, meaning "the horizon of the Aten".
Nefertiti was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious policy, in which they promoted the earliest known form of monotheism, Atenism, centered on the sun disc and its direct connection to the royal household. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of ancient Egyptian history. After her husband's death, some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as the female king known by the throne name, Neferneferuaten and before the ascension of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate. If Nefertiti did rule as Pharaoh, her reign was marked by the fall of Amarna and relocation of the capital back to the traditional city of Thebes.
Tey was the Great Royal Wife of Kheperkheprure Ay, who was the penultimate pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty. She also had been the wet nurse of Nefertiti.
Penthu was an Egyptian noble who bore the titles of sealbearer of the King of Lower Egypt, the sole companion, the attendant of the Lord of the Two Lands, the favorite of the good god, king's scribe, the king's subordinate, First servant of the Aten in the mansion of the Aten in Akhetaten, Chief of physicians, and chamberlain. These titles alone show how powerful he would have been in Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt.
Meketaten was the second of six daughters born to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She likely lived between Year 4 and Year 14 of Akhenaten's reign. Although little is known about her, she is frequently depicted with her sisters accompanying her royal parents in the first two-thirds of the Amarna Period.
The Small Aten Temple is a temple to the Aten located in the ancient Egyptian city of Amarna. It is one of the two major temples in the city, the other being the Great Temple of the Aten. It is situated next to the King's House and near the Royal Palace, in the central part of the city. Original known as the Hwt-Jtn or Mansion of the Aten, it was probably constructed before the larger Great Temple. Its only contemporary depiction is found in the tomb of Tutu. Like the other structures in the city, it was constructed quickly, and hence was easy to dismantle and reuse the material for later construction.
Meryre II was an ancient Egyptian noble known as the superintendent of Queen Nefertiti, and held the title of royal scribe, steward, overseer of the two treasuries, overseer of the royal harem of Nefertiti. He had a tomb constructed at Amarna, although his remains have never been identified. The tomb has the last dated appearance of Akhenaten and the Amarna family.
Neferneferuaten Tasherit or Neferneferuaten the younger was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty and the fourth daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti.
Beketaten was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty. Beketaten is considered to be the youngest daughter of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Tiye, thus the sister of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Her name means "Handmaid of Aten".
Amarna Tomb 1 is a sepulchre near Amarna, Upper Egypt. It is the tomb of the ancient Egyptian noble Huya, which is located in the cluster of tombs known collectively as the Northern tombs.
Mahu was Chief of Police at Akhetaten.
The tomb of Meryra is part of a group of tombs located near Amarna, Upper Egypt. Placed in the mountainsides, the graves are divided into north and south groupings; the northern tombs are located in the hillsides and the southern on the plains. Meryra's burial, identified as Amarna Tomb 4 is located in the northern cluster. The sepulchre is the largest and most elaborate of the noble tombs of Amarna. It, along with the majority of these tombs, was never completed. The rock cut tombs of Amarna were constructed specifically for the officials of King Akhenaten. Norman de Garis Davies originally published details of the Tomb in 1903 in the Rock Tombs of El Amarna, Part I – The Tomb of Meryra. The tomb dates back to the 18th Dynasty.
Mutbenret or Mutnodjmet was an Egyptian noblewoman, and said to be the sister of the King's Great Wife Nefertiti.
Nakhtpaaten or Nakht was an ancient Egyptian vizier during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty.
Amarna Tomb 5 is an ancient sepulchre in Amarna, Upper Egypt. It was built for the courtier Penthu, and is one of the six Northern tombs at Amarna. The burial is located to the south of the tomb of Meryra. It is very similar to the tomb of Ahmes. The sepulchre is T-shaped and its inner chamber would have served as the burial chamber.
Amarna tomb 7 was one of the Southern tombs at Amarna, Egypt. It belonged to Parennefer, who was a pure handed cupbearer of the king's Person.
Neferkheperu-her-sekheper was an ancient Egyptian official during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten. He was the mayor of Akhet-Aten, the pharaoh's new capital. He was buried in Tomb EA13 in the southern group of the Amarna rock tombs. His name, "Neferkheperu causes me to live", is a basilophoric name, since "Neferkheperu" is an element of Akhenaten's throne name.
The Tomb of Panehsy is a sepulchre in Amarna, Upper Egypt. It was erected for the noble Panehsy who bore the titles the First servant of the Aten in the house of Aten in Akhet-Aten, Second prophet of the Lord of the Two Lands Neferkheprure-Waenre (Akhenaten), the sealbearer of the King of Lower Egypt, Overseer of the storehouse of the Aten in Akhetaten, Overseer of cattle of the Aten in Akhet-Aten.
The Anonymous Tombs in Amarna are ancient Tombs of Nobles at the Royal Wadi in Amarna, Upper Egypt. They consist of both sepulchres and burial pits in varying stages of construction.
Ipy, also transliterated as Apy, was a court official from the time of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten during the Egyptian 18th Dynasty. Ipy was High Steward of Memphis, and a royal scribe.