Beni Hassan

Middle Kingdom rock-cut tombs with vivid painted scenes of daily life

Address East bank of the Nile, 20 km south of Minya

The necropolis of Beni Hassan consists of around 39 rock-cut tombs carved into the limestone cliffs of the east bank, dating from the 11th and 12th dynasties (roughly 2000-1800 BC). A handful are open to visitors and contain some of the best-preserved painted scenes of daily life in ancient Egypt: agricultural work, hunting, fishing, wrestling matches, dancing, weaving, and military training all rendered in vibrant pigments.

The tombs belong to the local nomarchs — the regional governors — who were buried in their home territory rather than near the royal capital. The most famous, tomb 3 of Khnumhotep II, contains the celebrated procession of Asiatic foreigners. Tomb 15 of Baqet III and tomb 17 of Khety have the wrestling sequences. The site requires a short climb up the cliff and is usually visited as a day trip from Minya with a police escort, when security conditions permit.

things to do sight archaeological site
A story
The Beni Hassan tombs preserve scenes that bring Middle Kingdom life into focus more directly than almost anything elsewhere in Egypt — full pages of wrestling holds painted in sequence like a manual, hunters with dogs, women weaving, and one famous procession of Asiatic foreigners that has been read as everything from refugees to traders. The colours have survived because the tombs were cut into a remote desert escarpment and largely ignored for 4,000 years.