El-Tarif ( ''aṭ-Ṭārif'') is a

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

on the West Bank of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, at the site of ancient Thebes (

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It is located in the northwestern outskirts of Luxor and southeast of the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and power ...

, opposite

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

, just to the southwest of the modern village of At-Tarif. It is the oldest of West Thebes' necropolises. It is a small mortuary temple, and the farthest north of the Tombs of the Nobles, and contains tombs of the late

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 ...

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

and early Middle Kingdom.

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 ...

mastaba A mastaba ( , or ), also mastabah or mastabat) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites ...

s are possibly attributed to local rulers of the Fourth or Fifth Dynasty. Eleventh Dynasty (2040–1991 BCE) tombs of local rulers have also been noted in the form of a series of

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 ...

dated to 2061–2010 BCE, the largest of which are

Intef I Sehertawy Intef I was a local nomarch at Thebes during the early First Intermediate Period and later an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. He was the first member of the 11th Dynasty to lay claim to a Horus name. Intef reigned from 4 to 16 years c. 2120 ...

Intef III Intef III was the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st century BC, at a time when Egypt was divided in two kingdoms. The son of his predecessor Intef II and father of his success ...

, who were kings of this dynasty.

Background

The El-Tarif tombs are located to the north on the West Bank of

. Here are more than 30 known archaeological sites of temples have been discovered. This site is between

Dendera Dendera ( ''Dandarah''; ; Bohairic ; Sahidic ), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient Iunet 𓉺𓈖𓏏𓊖 “jwn.t”, Tentyris,(Arabic: Ewan-t إيوان-ة ), or Tentyra is a small town and former bishopric in Egypt situated on the west bank of ...

and Gebelein on the flood plains of the

Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

, beyond Malqata in the south up to El-Tarif in the north. One access to the West Bank is across the new Nile Bridge and the other access is to cross the Nile by ferry from Luxor

corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising up on one side of the roadway and falling away on the other. The English language has adopted the word from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", itself derive ...

to El-Gezira. The Theban dynasty ruled from Thebes, which was the capital of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

was a local Egyptian ruler at Thebes. He was a member of 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 ...

during the First Intermediate Period. He was the first ruler who adopted the title of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

. He was an important

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 ...

and his name finds mention in

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 ...

's chapel.

Intef II Wahankh Intef II (also Inyotef II and Antef II) (died 2063 BC) was the third ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. His capital was located at Thebes ...

who was also called a Pharaoh was his brother who ruled for 50 years from 2112 to 2063 BCE. This dynasty developed a particular type of burial tombs which were called the ''saff-tomb'' or portico-tomb;Petrie (1909) Qurneh. British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account Fifteenth Year. London: University College. saff in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

means "rows." These were built by the rulers of the New Kingdom and they buried their dead in saff-tombs at the necropolis at El-Tarif. All of their tombs are in dilapidated condition, given their age.

Features

Eleventh Dynasty tombs of local rulers have also been noted. ''Saff'' tombs, formed of rock, are local to the area, but particularly noted at El-Tarif, where the largest belongs to

– III (Eleventh Dynasty). The forecourts, cut into the desert floor, were as large as , for example in the case of

's tomb. Private tombs of white plaster and decorated with stelae, numbering at least 250, are situated are those belonging to kings. Intef I, Intef II and Intef III were all buried in a saff (row) tomb in El Tarif in a row close to the Deir el-Bahri which is the location of the

Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep II (, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his Prenomen (Ancient Egypt), prenomen Nebhepetre (, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt, Elev ...

's Mortuary Temple.

References

{{Theban Necropolis Navigator Theban tombs