Beni-Hassan
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Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) () is an
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as
Middle Egypt Middle Egypt () is the section of land between Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis, Egypt, Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, ...
, the area between
Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut''. ( ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city i ...
and Memphis.Baines, John, and Jaromir Malek. ''Cultural Atlas Of Ancient Egypt''. Revised Edition ed. Oxfordshire, England: Andromeda Oxford Limited, 2000 While there are some
Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –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 Dynast ...
burials at the site, it was primarily used during the Middle Kingdom, spanning the 21st to 17th centuries BCE (
Middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
). Robins, Gay. ''The Art Of Ancient Egypt.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1997 To the south of the cemetery is a temple constructed by
Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...
and
Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...
, dedicated to the local goddess
Pakhet In Egyptian mythology, Pakhet, Egyptian ''Pḫ.t'', meaning ''she who scratches'' (also spelt Pachet, Pehkhet, Phastet, and Pasht) is a lioness goddess of war. Origin and mythology Pakhet is likely to be a regional lioness deity, ''Goddess of ...
. It is known as the Cave of Artemis, because the
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
identified Pakhet with
Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
, and the temple is subterranean.


Cemetery

Provincial governors in the Middle Kingdom continued to be buried in decorated
rock-cut tombs A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, so a type of rock-cut architecture. They are usually cut into a cliff or sloping rock face, but may go downward in fairly flat ground. It was a ...
in their local cemeteries, carried over 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 of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...
, at sites such as Beni Hasan. There is evidence of a reorganization of the system of government during the
12th Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty periodically expanded its terr ...
. During the First Intermediate Period and for some of the Middle Kingdom period it was common for
nomarch A nomarch (, Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called Nome (Egypt), nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsible for a nome. Etymology The te ...
s (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, and provincial governors were appointed or at least confirmed by the king. There are 39 ancient tombs here of Middle Kingdom ( to 19th centuries BCE) nomarchs of the
Oryx nome The Oryx nome ( ''Ma-hedj'') was one of the 42 '' nomoi'' (administrative divisions, Egyptian: ''sepat'') in ancient Egypt. The Oryx nome was the 16th nome of Upper Egypt, Wolfram Grajetzki, ''The Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt: history, archaeol ...
, who governed from
Hebenu Hebenu (, , ) or Alabastron () was a city in ancient Egypt. It was located in Middle Egypt, or the ''Heptanomy'', and belonged to the Hare nome (. It was the early capital of the Oryx nome (. The modern village of Zawiyat al-Amwat () (Minya Gover ...
. 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 John Garstang (5 May 1876 – 12 September 1956) was a British archaeologist of the Ancient Near East, especially Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the southern Levant. He was the younger brother of Professor Walter Garstang, FRS, a marine biol ...
; 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. They are famous for the quality of their paintings. Many of these scenes are in poor condition, though in the 19th century copies were made of several of them. Howard Carter as a teenager 1891 spent a season painting watercolours of some of them. In 2020, Martin Bommas identified all four walls of 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 of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...
burial chamber of the governor Baqet II in tomb BH33 as being inscribed with
Pyramid Texts The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranea ...
and
Coffin Texts The Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. They are partially derived from the earlier Pyramid Texts, reserved for royal use only, but contain substantial n ...
in the
Hieratic Hieratic (; ) is the name given to a cursive writing system used for Ancient Egyptian and the principal script used to write that language from its development in the third millennium BCE until the rise of Demotic in the mid-first millennium BCE ...
script which served the tomb owner as a ritual handbook, published in 2022. This discovery marked a breakthrough in the understanding of the transmission of
Pyramid Texts The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranea ...
after the downfall of the
Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –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 Dynast ...
.


Notable tombs

Four out of the 39 tombs are accessible to the public. Notable tombs are: *Tomb 2 – Amenemhat, known as Ameny, nomarch under
Senusret I Senusret I (Egyptian language, Middle Egyptian: wikt:z-n-wsrt, 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, Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 ...
(accessible). *Tomb 3 –
Khnumhotep II Khnumhotep II (''ẖnmw-ḥtp, " Khnum is pleased"'') was an ancient Egyptian '' Great Chief of the Oryx nome'' (the 16th nome of Upper Egypt) during the reign of pharaohs Amenemhat II and Senusret II of the 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom (20t ...
, notable for the depiction of caravans of Semitic traders (accessible). *Tomb 4 – Khnumhotep IV, nomarch during the late
12th Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty periodically expanded its terr ...
(closed). *Tomb 13 – Khnumhotep, royal scribe during the 12th Dynasty (closed). *Tomb 14 – Khnumhotep I, nomarch under
Amenemhat I :''See Amenemhat (disambiguation), Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat I (Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-ḥꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet I, was a pharaoh of ancient ...
(closed). *Tomb 15 –
Baqet III Baqet III was an ancient Egyptian official and '' Great Chief of the Oryx nome'' (the 16th nome of Upper Egypt) during the 11th Dynasty in the 21st century BCE. Apart from the position of governor of the entire nome, Baqet III also held the ti ...
, notable for the depiction of
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
techniques and is among the earliest known portrayals from Antiquity. *Tomb 17 – Khety, nomarch during the
11th Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI; ) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the lat ...
, son of Baqet; notable for depiction of what may be ball games (accessible). *Tomb 21 –
Nakht Nakht was an ancient Egyptian official who held the position of a scribe and astronomer of Amun, probably during the reign of Thutmose IV of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. He was buried in the Theban Necropolis in tomb TT52. ...
, nomarch during the 12th Dynasty (closed). *Tomb 23 –
Netjernakht Netjernakht was an Ancient Egyptian official known from his tomb chapel at Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt. He lived most likely in the Twelfth Dynasty. His exact date and position are disputed. Netjernakht bears in his tomb chapel different titles. ...
, ''overseer of the
Eastern Desert The Eastern Desert (known archaically as Arabia or the Arabian Desert) is the part of the Sahara Desert that is located east of the Nile River. It spans of northeastern Africa and is bordered by the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea to the east, a ...
'' during the 12th dynasty (closed). *Tomb 27 –
Ramushenti Ramushenti was an ancient Egyptian local governor of the Oryx nome in Middle Egypt. He is only known from his decorated tomb chapel (BH 27) at Beni Hasan. In the decoration of his tomb chapel appear several inscriptions providing the name and ti ...
, nomarch during the 11th Dynasty (closed). *Tomb 29 – Baqet I, nomarch during the 11th Dynasty (closed). *Tomb 33 – Baqet II, nomarch during the 11th Dynasty (closed).


See also

*
List of ancient Egyptian towns and cities This is a list of known ancient Egyptian towns and cities.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/. Retrieved on 2016-03-05. T ...


References


Further reading

* Newberry, Percy E.,
Beni Hasan. Part I–IV
'. London, England: Kegan Paul, Trench, Tubner & Co., Ltd., 1893–1900.


External links

* {{Authority control Cemeteries in Egypt Tombs of ancient Egypt Buildings and structures of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt Buildings and structures of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt