Ancient site · Minya
Beni Hasan Tombs
Cliff-cut tombs of Middle Kingdom provincial governors on the Nile's east bank south of Minya, decorated with vivid scenes of daily life and wrestling.
Listen to the guide
The story
Beni Hasan was the cemetery of the sixteenth nome of Upper Egypt, the Oryx nome, whose governors ruled from the nearby city of Hebenu. The site has 39 rock-cut tombs, mostly dating to the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties, along with hundreds of simpler graves in a lower cemetery used by ordinary people. The best known belong to Amenemhat, Khnumhotep II, Baqet III and Khety, and these are the tombs open to visitors. Baqet III's chapel shows about 220 pairs of wrestlers, while Khnumhotep II's tomb depicts a caravan of Asiatic visitors. A little to the south lies a rock-cut temple of the goddess Pakhet, built under Hatshepsut and Thutmose III and known as the Speos Artemidos.
Good to know
- The site holds 39 rock-cut tombs of the Oryx nome's governors from the Middle Kingdom.
- Baqet III's tomb shows about 220 pairs of wrestlers, one of each pair painted red and the other dark brown.
- Khnumhotep II's tomb depicts a caravan of Asiatic visitors arriving in Egypt.
- Only four tombs are open to visitors: those of Amenemhat, Khnumhotep II, Baqet III and Khety.
Visiting tips
The site lies about 20 km south of Minya city on the Nile's east bank. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities page lists visiting hours of 8:00 to 17:00. Please check hours, prices and which tombs are open before you visit, as they can change.