At the foothills of the Valley of the Kings is the village of Abd el Qurma. Within these hills lie the tombs of the govenors, viziers and priests. The tombs are shallower than those of the Pharaohs and more open so they have not survived as well, but there are still some magnificent carvings and paintings to be seen on their walls.
The
tombs have been buried under the village of Abd el Qurma and at present the
Egyptian government is in the process of moving and rehousing the entire population
to enable excavation and renovation of the site. The inhabitants of the village
over the years have discovered the tombs and have removed and sold many of the
antiquities that they have found.
There are some tombs already open to the public and they are in various stages of repair. It is thought that many have been damaged due to water seepage but many have also been robbed.
The basic structure of the tombs have three levels, the upper level being the shrine, which may have housed a stelae telling about the occupant, then a middle level serving as an offering chapel for the relatives. The lower level was the burial chamber.
There are almost 1000 tombs mostly dating from the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom. The burials are mainly of Dignitaries and the elite of their time.
The decoration and writings in the tombs tell about the life and position of the occupant and his family and some interesting carvings and paintings give us some idea about life at that time.
The tomb of Kha-em-hat is on the lower level of the site and was used by the early christians as a dwelling place so is quite smoke damaged from the open fires. Kha em hat was a Royal Scribe and overseer of the granaries at the time of Amenhotep III.
The plaque outside shows the layout of the tomb and explains about Khaemhat's position. Inside reliefs and paintings show scenes of farmers working in the fields and pictures of himself and his wife.
Nearby is the tomb of Userhat, annother Royal scribe and Overseer of the Cattle, Bread Counting scribe and Deputy Herald.
His tomb is decorated with scenes of his family and everyday Egyptian life.
The tomb of Rekhmire is one of the more attractive and informative tombs. Rekhmire was Vizier, or chief minister to Tuthmosis III. His tomb is cut into the rock and the doorway leads into an oblong chamber with a long corridor leading from the centre of the back wall. Tomb texts and decoration describe his installation as vizier and the role he played and duties he performed. The interesting fact about this tomb is that there is no burial shaft, suggesting that he was buried elsewhere, maybe in the Valley of the Kings, because of his important role.
