Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a cult center and the most venerated city during many periods of ancient Egyptian history. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand and where the city was situated; and the western bank, where a necropolis of large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes can be found. In 1979, the ruins of ancient Thebes were classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Meretseger was a Theban cobra-goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, in charge with guarding and protecting the vast Theban Necropolis — on the west bank of the Nile, in front of Thebes — and especially the heavily guarded Valley of the Kings. Her cult was typical of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
Mortuary temples were temples that were erected adjacent to, or in the vicinity of, royal tombs in Ancient Egypt. The temples were designed to commemorate the reign of the Pharaoh under whom they were constructed, as well as for use by the king's cult after death. Some refer to these temples as a cenotaph. These temples were also used to make sacrifices of food and animals.
Tomb WV22, also known as KV22, was the burial place of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. Located in the Western arm of the Valley of the Kings, the tomb is unique in that it has two subsidiary burial chambers for the pharaoh's wives Tiye and Sitamen. It was officially discovered by Prosper Jollois and Édouard de Villiers du Terrage, engineers with Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in August 1799, but had probably been open for some time. The tomb was first excavated by Theodore M. Davis, the details of which are lost. The first documented clearance was carried out by Howard Carter in 1915. Since 1989, a Japanese team from Waseda University led by Sakuji Yoshimura and Jiro Kondo has excavated and conserved the tomb. The sarcophagus is missing from the tomb. The tomb's layout and decoration follow the tombs of the king's predecessors, Amenhotep II (KV35) and Thutmose IV (KV43); however, the decoration is much finer in quality. Several images of the pharaoh's head have been cut out and can be seen today in the Louvre.
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.
Tomb KV19, located in a side branch of Egypt's Valley of the Kings, was intended as the burial place of Prince Ramesses Sethherkhepshef, better known as Pharaoh Ramesses VIII, but was later used for the burial of Prince Mentuherkhepshef instead, the son of Ramesses IX, who predeceased his father. Though incomplete and used "as is," the decoration is considered to be of the highest quality.
The necropolis of El-Khokha is located on the west bank of the river Nile at Thebes, Egypt. The necropolis is surrounds a hill and has five Old Kingdom tombs and over 50 tombs from the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties as well as some from the First Intermediate Period and the Late Period.
The area of the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, Egypt, has been a major area of modern Egyptological exploration for the last two centuries. Before this, the area was a site for tourism in antiquity. This area illustrates the changes in the study of ancient Egypt. Starting as antiquity hunting, and ending as scientific excavation of the whole Theban Necropolis. Despite the exploration and investigation noted below, only eleven of the tombs have actually been completely recorded.
The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, rock-cut tombs were excavated for the pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom.
Anen or Aanen was an ancient Egyptian official during the late 18th Dynasty of Egypt.
The ancient Egyptian noble Sennefer was "Mayor of the City" and "Overseer of the Granaries and Fields, Gardens and Cattle of Amun" during the reign of Amenhotep II of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Being a favourite of the king he accumulated great wealth. He was also allowed to place a double statue of himself and his wife in the temple at Karnak. The famous garden plan, often described is Sennefer's Garden, is more likely to be of a garden which Sennefer managed, and perhaps designed, than to be of a garden which Sennefer owned.
Sennefer or Senneferi was an ancient Egyptian official during the 18th Dynasty.
The Theban Tomb TT120 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. It forms part of the Theban Necropolis, situated on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor. The tomb is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official Anen, who was the brother of Queen Tiye, and became Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sem-priest of Heliopolis, and Divine Father under the reign of Amenhotep III.
The Theban Tomb TT57 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. It forms part of the Theban Necropolis, situated on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor. The tomb is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official Khaemhat, who was royal scribe and overseer of double granary, during the reign Amenhotep III. The relief decoration of the tomb is regarded as the best of New Kingdom art.
Nebwenenef was High Priest of Amun at the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II during the 19th Dynasty. Prior to that, Nebwenenef had served as High Priest of Anhur and High Priest of Hathor during the reign of Seti I and possibly even earlier.
Amethu called Ahmose was a vizier of ancient Egypt. He served during the reign of Thutmose II and the early years of the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III of the 18th Dynasty.
The Theban Tomb TT19 is located in Dra' Abu el-Naga', part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian Amenmose, who was the high priest of Amenhotep of the Forecourt during the early Nineteenth Dynasty.
The Theban Tomb TT391 is located in South El-Assasif, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian mayor of Thebes and fourth priest of Amun Karabasken, who lived during the reign of the 25th Dynasty pharaohs Piye and Shabaka. The tomb itself was built around 715–705 BCE under Shebitku, and it is the earliest one in South El-Assasif. It was first discovered in 1820 by John Gardner Wilkinson, Robert Hay and James Burton, then by Karl Richard Lepsius; it was reopened in 2001.
The Theban Tomb TT48 is located in El-Khokha, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. TT48 was the burial place of the ancient Egyptian named Amenemhat called Surer, who was a Chief Steward, At the head of the King, Overseer of the Cattle of Amun. Amenemhat called Surer dates to the time of Amenhotep III from the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He was a son of Ith-taui, who was an overseer of the cattle of Amun and the lady Mut-tuy.
Theban Tomb TT72 is located in the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It was the tomb of Re, who was the First Prophet of Amun in the Mortuary temple of Thutmosis III. The tomb is located in the necropolis area around Sheikh Abd el-Qurna and dates to the time of Amenhotep II.
