Beni Hasan

Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) (Arabic: بني حسن‎) Beni Hasan is a cemetery site located in the region known as Middle Egypt, which is the area between Asyut and Memphis. While there are some Old Kingdom burials at the site, it was primarily used during the Middle Kingdom period which spanned from 2040 to 1640 BCE. To the south of the cemetery is Speos Artemidos (also known as Istabl Antar) a rock cut temple, built by Hatshepsut, dedicated to the local goddess Pakhet. Provincial governors in the Middle Kingdom continued to be buried in decorated rock-cut tombs in their local cemeteries, carried over from the First Intermediate Period, at sites such as Beni Hasan.

Exterior view of tombs of Khety and Baqet III.

There is evidence of a re-organization of the system of government during the 12th Dynasty. During the First Intermediate Period and for some of the Middle Kingdom period it was common for Nomarchs (someone who oversees/controls a government specified area) to be hereditary positions; the elite did not depend on the king to legitimize their power as much as they had in the Old Kingdom. In the 12th Dynasty the power of the Nomarchs began to be curtailed, provincial governors were appointed or at least confirmed by the king.

There are 39 ancient tombs here of Middle Kingdom (ca. 21st to 19th centuries BC) nomarchs of the Oryx nome, who governed from Hebenu. Due to the quality of, and distance to the cliffs in the west, these tombs were constructed on the east bank. There is a spatial distribution in this cemetery (there are two cemeteries here: the upper range and the lower necropolis) associated with the different levels of resources available to the deceased; the most important people were buried near the top of the cliff. In the lower cemetery there are 888 shaft tombs, dating to the Middle Kingdom, that were excavated by John Garstang; for the most part these tombs shared a similar general design which included a small chamber or recess at the foot of the shaft (facing south) to receive the coffin and the funeral deposits. In the upper cemetery members of the elite class built striking tombs to represent their social and political positions as the rulers and officials of the Oryx Nome, which is the 16th Nome of Upper Egypt. At this site, the provincial high elite were buried in large and elaborately decorated tombs carved into the limestone cliffs near the provincial capital, located in the upper cemetery area. These tombs lie in a row on a north-south axis.

There is a slight break in the natural rock terrace, on to which they open, that divides the thirty-nine high status tombs into two groups. The basic design of these elite tombs was an outer court and a rock-cut pillared room (sometimes referred to as the chapel) in which there was a shaft that led to the burial chamber. Some of the larger tombs have biographical inscriptions and were painted with scenes of daily life and warfare. Today, many of these scenes are in poor condition; luckily, in the 19th century copies were made of several of them.

They are famous for the quality of their paintings. Four out of the 39 tombs are accessible to the public:

Tomb 2 - Amenemhet, known as Ameni, nomarch under Sesostris I.
Tomb 3 - Khnumhotep II: notable for the depiction of caravans of Semitic traders.
Tomb 15 - Baqet III: notable for the depiction of wrestling techniques.
Tomb 17 - Khety, an 11th dynasty nomarch, son of Baqet.

To the south of the tombs is a temple constructed by Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, the Cave of Artemis, so-named because the Greeks identified Pakhet with Artemis, and the temple is subterranean.

Tomb of Khnumhotep II

The tomb of Khnumhotep II, one of the most notable at Beni Hasan, dates to the early 12th Dynasty (1991-1783 BCE) which is in the Middle Kingdom. The deceased was a high official of the ancient administrative area, the Oryx. His titles include Overseer of the Eastern Desert (he held this position from Year 19 of Amenemhet II until at least Year 6 of Senwosret II), Hereditary Prince, Count of Menat Khufu, Overseer of priests. The tomb would have been approached during ancient times via a path that was distinguishable by dark brown boulders on either side; the path extended from the open outer court down the hill to the edge of the cultivated land.

The tomb of Khnumhotep II is fronted by a columned portico and a small courtyard; the courtyard would have been surrounded by mud-brick walls. The small columned portico is on the west side of the courtyard, directly in front of the tomb entrance. The ceiling of the portico is curved similar to the shape of a segmented barrel. The rock around the doorway leading inside the tomb to the chapel was smoothed and flattened, on which a fourteen line inscription is giving the list of the festal days for the services of funeral offerings, called percheru, along with the name and titles of Khnumhotep II. The floor of the main chamber (also referred to as the chapel) is sunk into the ground below the level of the open outer court and is descended into by three steps. The chapel is the main chamber cut straight back into the cliff almost symmetrical with 4 columns and two large shafts (that lead to burial chambers) are cut into the floor. These four main columns support a ceiling that is divided by three segmented barrel shapes; an illustration of this by G.W. Fraser is available in Newberry’s book.

These vaults are painted in a pattern that may be referencing a tent. The only light for this chamber would have come from the doorway to the portico and originally a door, between the portico and the chamber, could have been used to close the tomb to the outdoor elements. Percy E. Newberry notes that the only remain from the inward swinging door is the pivot-hole. On the doorjambs are prayers to Osiris and Anubis above a seated Khnumhotep II who is facing inward. At the back of this main room (east wall) is a small rectangular shine approached by a step about five inches high. Newberry mentions that from his survey of the tomb there was a statue here of a seated Khnumhotep II, but the entire statue had been cut away and only a portion of the seat remains.

In the main chamber there is an autobiography of the deceased; it begins to the left of the entrance to the shrine and runs counterclockwise around the walls of the main chamber, ending to the right of the doorway leading to the shrine. The main types of information included are about the actions Khnumhotep II performed during his lifetime, his family and their lives, as well as the close relationship of his family to the royal house, Khnumhotep II’s excellent character, and his request to visitors that offerings are made to him.

On the west wall of the chamber are scenes showing mainly the preparations for the funeral and the resurrection of the deceased. This is exemplified by the boat voyages making a connection between Khnumhotep II and the god Osiris. The orientation of the boats within the tomb literally has them travel south to Abydos (right of the entrance) and north to return (left of the entrance). The wall collectively ensures the tomb owner of rebirth in the afterlife where he will be sustained through cult activities.

An increasing threat to the Middle Kingdom was the Asiatic groups to the northeast. Texts from the Middle Kingdom include Asiatic names suggesting their presence in Egypt during the 12th dynasty. It has been proposed that they probably entered the country as nomadic pastoralists in parts of the eastern Delta or as workers attempting to flee famines. They traveled to Egypt in caravans; knowledge of this comes primarily from scenes in elite tombs. On the eastern end of the north wall there is a large-scale standing figure of Khnumhotep II receiving offerings primarily of several types of animals and birds. What makes this tomb stand out among the 39 large rock-cut tombs at Beni Hasan is the scene of nomadic traders bringing the deceased offerings; the Aamu group lead by the Aamu Sheykh, Absha. Kathryn Bard interprets this man to be the chief of the group of foreigners, spelled Abisha. The west end of the wall has another large-scale figure of Khnumhotep II only here he is facing right and using a bow to hunt in the desert which is on the edge of the Egyptian world, the boundary between order and chaos. It has been interpreted that in this scene Khnumhotep II is assuming the role of the king dominating over the chaotic power of the desert. The king can be identified with the god Horus and in which case the animals are seen as enemies of the gods and of Egypt.

The east wall houses the entrance to the shrine, as well as two large depictions of Khnumhotep II hunting in the marshes, one on the north side and the other on the south side. To the south he is harpooning two relatively large fish and to the north he is fowling with a throwstick. These hunting in the marshes scenes help protect the deceased in the afterlife as well as guarantee his rebirth through connotations of sexuality. Beneath him, north of the door, there are pictures of several people fishing and beneath him on the south side are representations of fighting boatmen. Collectively this wall represents the perpetual renewal of Khnumhotep II.

The fourth wall of this tomb, south wall, was dedicated to the celebration of the cult meal of Khnumhotep II and his wife Khety. The east end of the wall features the deceased seated in front of a offering table covered with offerings holding a flail, traditionally seen as a symbol of royalty or divinity, in his right hand. At the west end of the wall there is an illustration of Khety sitting in front of a full offering table. She is facing left and participating in her husband’s meal presented by his cult. The shrine portrays a smaller version of the offering cult and in many ways can be seen as an expansion from the false door of the Old Kingdom, where a statue inside a niche could have been integrated. The placing of statues in the chapel itself is a new funerary art style that appeared in the Middle Kingdom tombs. However, the function of the chapel in the tomb still remained the same from the Old Kingdom; it was the location for funerary rituals that supplied the deceased with provisions for the afterlife. The representation of food shown on the south wall was to secure that the deceased would be fed for eternity.

Rock-cut Tombs of the Middle Kingdom

Beni Hasan is a small village, south of el-Minya, where an important group of rock-cut tombs are carved into the high limestone cliffs on the east bank of the Nile. The tombs date mostly to Dynasties XI and XII, although there are a few smaller and less elaborate ones belonging to Dynasty VI when provincial rulers had begun to establish their independent power along the Nile Valley. The tombs are reached via a long steep flight of stone steps up the hillside, from where there is a magnificent view up and down the river valley.

The most important of the tombs belonged to provincial rulers of the 16th Upper Egyptian nome. Of 39 tombs on the upper part of the cliff, only 12 were decorated and four are currently open to visitors along with another undecorated tomb (BH18). These offer a rare chance to see the distinctive style of mortuary art characteristic of the early Middle Kingdom with their colourfully painted scenes of daily life, recreation and military activities. The location of the cemetery on the east bank of the Nile is somewhat unusual - the west being the domain of Osiris. The necropolis was recorded by several early explorers and between 1890 and 1894 was surveyed by Percy Newerry on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund. John Garstang excavated some of the Dynasty VI to Dynasty XII tombs during 1902 to 1904 and Nina de Garis Davis copied wall-scenes in 1931. In the early 1980s some of the Dynasty XII tombs were cleaned of their grime by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation, restoring the wall paintings to their original bright colours.

Tomb of Baqet III (BH15)

The tomb of Baqet III is the earliest of the tombs which are open. Baqet was provincial governor of Menat-Khufu (modern el-Minya) during the later years of Dynasty XI. A large rectangular cult chapel lies behind the plain tomb façade with two slender lotus columns separating the front part of the chapel from the rear.

The north wall of the tomb has many painted scenes depicting Baqet and his life in the provincial community, including the desert hunt with many types of animals. Industrial scenes of weaving and spinning, goldsmiths and sculptors are mingled with scenes of country living - hunting and fishing in the marshes, catching birds and gathering papyrus. Battle scenes are shown on the east wall, along with wrestlers which seem to be a feature of the decoration in tombs from this period. The south wall depicts more traditional funerary scenes, with the deceased’s statue being dragged on a sledge to the tomb, accompanied by offering-bringers, but also includes recreational scenes of sports and playing senet. There is also a small L-shaped statue chamber in the eastern side of the south wall.

Tomb of Khety (BH17)

Khety, also a Dynasty XI governor, was the son of Baqet. The architecture of his tomb is similar to that of his father’s, but with six slender closed lotus pillars in the rear portion. The east and north walls of the tomb are decorated with scenes of fowling and the papyrus harvest, hunting in the desert and local industries below. Khety and his wife are shown presiding over the activities and watch women dancing and playing games. Clappers and dancers and musicians are shown before Khety’s statue being dragged on a sledge.

On the east wall there are long scenes of men practicing unarmed combat or wrestling. The movements can be seen easily because the bodies are painted in contrasting shades. Towards the left-hand side, battle scenes show a fortress under siege, with piles of slain bodies towards the right-hand side. The south wall contains agricultural scenes including wine-making, ploughing and processions of colourful cattle. The funeral rites are also depicted, with the traditional boats as well as offering-bringers and butchers on the west wall.

Tomb of Amenemhet (BH2)

The tomb of Amenemhet, who was called Ameni, dates to Dynasty XII and is a little more elaborate than the earlier tombs. We can be more precise than this, as the tomb-owner’s biographical text is dated to year 43, month 2 of the season of inundation, day 15 of the reign of Senwosret I. Amenemhet was the last holder of the hereditary title ‘Great Overlord of the Province of the Oryx’ at a time when the government of Egypt was once more becoming more centralised. The architecture of Amenemhet’s tomb differs from the earlier style by having a courtyard and a portico with two columns before the entrance to the tomb-chapel.

The tomb chapel is large and rectangular and contains four wide polygonal pillars and two burial shafts. An elaborately decorated ceiling is divided into three naves, each with a vaulted roof. The wall-paintings contain themes similar to earlier tombs, with agriculture and industries, hunting in the desert, military activities and funeral rites with offering-bringers. A large offering list appears across the top of the south wall, before Amenemhet who sits with his wife at a table containing all the produce of his lands. These later tombs also contain a small statue chamber, to the east beyond the tomb-chapel. In Amenemhet’s tomb there are the remains of a statue group which probably depicted the owner with his wife and mother, with an offering table in front.

Tomb of Khnumhotep (BH3)

Khnumhotep II was a successor of Amenemhet and occupied one of the latest of the Middle Kingdom tombs built at Beni Hasan. Although he was a provincial governor, technically his power would have been less than that of his predecessor as the Middle Kingdom government of Egypt became stronger. His titles include ‘Hereditary Chief’, ‘King’s Acquaintance’ and ‘One who is Beloved of his God’.

Khnumhotep’s tomb follows the architectural style of Amenemhet’s, with four polygonal columns in the tomb-chapel behind the impressive façade and portico. The same themes are continued in the wall decoration too, but the scenes are more colourful and lively and make this perhaps the most interesting and distinctive of the Beni Hasan tombs. On the north wall is a famous scene depicting a caravan of asiatics in their striped robes bringing gazelles and other items to trade. Two especially beautiful scenes dominate the east wall - portrayals of Khnumhotep with his family, fowling and snaring birds in the marshes in a papyrus skiff.

Khnumhotep’s well-preserved autobiographical text can be seen running along the base of the walls, painted to simulate granite. A statue chamber behind an elaborate doorway on the east side of the tomb-chapel still contains the lower part of a statue of the deceased.

Sources:

Wikipedia - Beni Hasan
Egyptian Monuments - Beni Hasan
The Cosmology of Khnumhotep by Kamrin, Janice (1999)

Bani Hasan al Shurruq

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