Beni Hassan Tombs

The tombs of Beni Hassan are cut into the limestone cliffs on the east bank of the Nile, about 20 km south of Minya. They belonged to the governors and senior officials of the Oryx nome, the 16th province of Upper Egypt, and most date to the 11th and 12th Dynasties of the Middle Kingdom, around four thousand years ago. Their painted walls are among the fullest pictures of daily life to survive from that period.

Two cemeteries

The site has two parts. The upper cemetery, high on the cliff face, has 39 large rock-cut tombs, twelve of which still have painted scenes. Names such as Baqet, Khety and Khnumhotep come up again and again over several generations, which suggests the owners belonged to related families. Below them, the lower cemetery holds hundreds of smaller shaft tombs of officials from the First Intermediate Period to the Middle Kingdom, along with a few from the late Old Kingdom.

The tombs were recorded by Percy Newberry for the Archaeological Survey of Egypt between 1890 and 1894, and John Garstang of the University of Liverpool excavated the lower cemetery in 1902–1904. Since 2010 a team from Macquarie University in Australia has been studying the site again.

The tombs you can visit

Four of the upper tombs are usually open, and a guard unlocks them and switches on the lights.

• Amenemhat (BH2): the tomb of the last known governor of the nome, who held office for about 25 years under Senusret I. A columned porch cut from the rock leads into a hall with painted scenes and a long inscription about his career.
• Khnumhotep II (BH3): known for its procession of the Aamu, a group of foreigners from western Asia shown arriving with their families, animals and goods.
• Baqet III (BH15): a long series of wrestlers, with each pair painted in contrasting colours so you can follow the holds.
• Khety (BH17): more wrestling scenes, together with soldiers in training and an attack on a fortress.

Other scenes across the tombs show farming, crafts, hunting, games and warfare. Nearby, in a valley in the cliffs, is the Speos Artemidos, a rock-cut temple that Hatshepsut dedicated to the local lioness goddess Pakhet in the 18th Dynasty.

Visiting tips

• Allow one and a half to two hours for the climb and the four tombs.
• A long stone stairway leads up the slope to the tombs. It is not steep, but there is little shade, so come early and bring water and a hat.
• The tombs are lit, but a small torch helps you pick out details in the paintings.
• Beni Hassan combines well with Tell El-Amarna further south, or with a day around Minya.

Getting there

The tombs are on the east bank of the Nile, about 20 km south of Minya. There is no direct public transport to the site, so most visitors hire a car and driver or a licensed guide in Minya, often combining the visit with other sites in the governorate.

Last checked November 2026. Sources: egymonuments.gov.eg, egymonuments.com, en.wikipedia.org.