![Assuan 12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Assuan_12.jpg)
Qubbet el-Hawa or "Dome of the Wind" is a site on the western bank of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
, opposite
Aswan
Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate.
Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...
, that serves as the resting place of ancient nobles and priests from the
Old and
Middle Kingdoms of
ancient Egypt.
The necropolis in use from the
Fourth Dynasty of Egypt
The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other ...
until the Roman Period.
The site was inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
in 1979 along with other examples of Upper Egyptian architecture, as part of the "
Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" (despite Qubbet el-Hawa being neither Nubian, nor between Abu Simbel and Philae).
Name
The name is derived from the dome of the tomb of an Islamic sheikh, but archaeologically, it is usually understood as referring to the site of the tombs of the officials lined up on artificial terraces below the summit of the Nile bank upon which the Islamic tomb stands.
Tombs of the Nobles
![Flickr - schmuela - IMG 6383](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Flickr_-_schmuela_-_IMG_6383.jpg)
There have been about 100 tombs discovered as of July 2022.
The majority from the
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
and provide an insight into the burial traditions of Upper Egyptian Nome 1 during the later Old Kingdom. Examples include Mekhu and his son
Sabni from the
Sixth Dynasty
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt.
Pharaohs
Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below. Manetho acc ...
.
Mekhu and Sabni's tombs describes the former leading a royal expedition to the south and, upon his return, being attacked and killed by
Nubians
Nubians () ( Nobiin: ''Nobī,'' ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They originate from the early inhabitants of the central Nile valley, believed to be one of the earliest cradles of ...
; Sabni is said to wage a counterattack to recover his father's body and seek revenge.
Others include Sobekhotep who served as a seal-bearer of the King of Lower Egypt in the
Fifth Dynasty
The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...
,
Ishemai (#98 - dated to 6th dynasty pharaoh Pepi II),
Heqaib
Heqaib, also Hekaib or Hekayeb, was an ancient Egyptian nomarch of the 1st '' nomos'' of Upper Egypt (" Land of the Bow") under king Pepi II Neferkare, towards the end of the 6th Dynasty. He was also an officer in charge of military expeditions i ...
, and
Harkhuf. One tomb, #33, was found to be oriented to the winter solstice.
There are, however, some later tombs, for instance the tomb of a chanting priest named Setka from the
First Intermediate Period
The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious ...
, the tomb of a
New Kingdom high priest named Kakm, the tomb of User Wadjat a New Kingdom-era ruler of
Elephantine
Elephantine ( ; ; arz, جزيرة الفنتين; el, Ἐλεφαντίνη ''Elephantíne''; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological sites on the island were inscribed on the UNESCO ...
, and the tomb of Amenhotep a New Kingdom-era high priest and bearer of the seals of Upper Egypt. Two
Middle Kingdom rulers,
Senusret I
Senusret I (Middle Egyptian: z-n-wsrt; /suʀ nij ˈwas.ɾiʔ/) also anglicized as Sesostris I and Senwosret I, was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC (1920 BC to 1875 BC), and was one of the most ...
and
Senusret II
Khakheperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun. Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an ...
, are also buried here.
The official website of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities writes that the inscriptions on the walls of the tombs here highlight the importance of the roles nobles played during this period of history, such as launching exploratory and commercial voyages and leading military campaigns.
Among the most important tombs are those of the expedition leaders (like Harkhuf) dispatched to distant lands to negotiate the acquisition of foreign goods for the Egyptian court. During the Middle Kingdom, a minor sanctuary for one (or more) of these leaders (designated with the appellation "Heqa-jb") was prominent in the town at Elephantine.
Archaeology
![Qubbet el-Hawa Sarenput II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Qubbet_el-Hawa_Sarenput_II._08.JPG)
Early excavators of the site included General Francis Grenfell in 1885,
Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1892, Jacques de Morgan in the early 1890s and Lady William
Cecil together with Howard Carter in the early 1900s. Labib Habachi worked at the site between 1946 and 1952. In more recent times Elmar Edel excavated at Qubbet el-Hawa between 1959 and the early 1980.
In 2008 excavation, by the University of Jaén, resumed at the site. In 2015 a joint effort of the University of Birmingham and the Egypt Exploration Society worked the site, focusing mainly on the Lower Necropolis.
In January 2020, six
mastaba
A mastaba (, or ), also mastabah, mastabat or pr- djt (meaning "house of stability", " house of eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian), is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inwar ...
graves, two shaft graves and one rock-cut tomb with several burials dating back to the Old Kingdom were uncovered by Qubbet El-Hawa Research Project led by Martin Bommas.
Mostafa Vaziri said that one of the tombs was very well preserved, he also added that some of the graves were 190x285cm, while others were 352x635cm. Though entrance of one of the tombs with a wall of carefully laid
mudbrick
A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also bee ...
s had blocked by the tomb constructors, that specific grave had been looted by thieves who broke into the tomb through the back wall in ancient times.
Abdel Moneim Saeed, director-general of the Aswan and Nuba Antiquities Sector, revealed in July 2022 that work was underway by a joint Egyptian-German mission to prepare several tombs for public viewing. The roads leading to them will also be repaired and paved, guide signs will be posted, and a modern lighting system will be set up.
Coptic Site
The hill is also the site of a Coptic monastery of Saint Anthony and some of the tombs were reused as a
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
church.
Bibliography
* Elmar Edel: Die Felsengräber der Qubbet el-Hawa bei Assuan. Wiesbaden 1967–1971.
* Elmar Edel: Die Reiseberichte des Harchuf (Hrw-hwff) in seinem Grab am Qubbet el-Hawa (34n). Berlin 1955.
* Elmar Edel: Beiträge zu den Inschriften des Mittleren Reiches in den Gräbern der Qubbet el-Hawa. Berlin 1971.
* Elmar Edel: Altägyptische Fürstengräber bei Assuan. Ausgrabungen auf der Qubbet el-Hawa. Berlin 1966.
* Alan Gardiner: Egypt of the Pharaohs. Oxford 1961.
* Labib Habachi: 16 Studies on lower Nubia. In: Annales du services des Antiquities de l'Egypte. (ASAE) Nr. 23, 1981.
* Labib Habachi: The Sanctuary of Heqaib. Mainz 1985.
* Michael Höveler-Müller: Funde aus dem Grab 88 der Qubbet el-Hawa bei Assuan. (Die Bonner Bestände), Wiesbaden 2006.
* M. R. Jenkins: Notes on the Tomb of Setka at Qubbett el-Hawa, Aswan. In: Bulletin of the Australian Center for Egyptology. (BACE) Bd. 11, Sydney 1999 S. 67–81.
* Jacques de Morgan: Catalogue des monuments et inscriptions de l’Egypte antique. Wien 1894.
* Hans Wolfgang Müller: Die Felsengräber der Fürsten von Elephantine aus der Zeit des Mittleren Reiches. Glückstadt 1940.
* Friedrich Wilhelm Rösing: Qubbet el-Hawa und Elephantine. Zur Bevölkerungsgeschichte von Ägypten. Fischer, Stuttgart/ New York 1990, .
* Kurt Sethe
Urkunden des Alten Reiches. Abteilung I, Band I, Heft 1–4, Leipzig 1932–3.
References
External links
Qubbet el-Hawa Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qubbet El-Hawa
Tombs of ancient Egypt
Archaeological sites in Egypt
Aswan