Dra’ Abu el-Naga, Luxor: 2,500 Years of Burials

Dra’ Abu el-Naga has been used as a burial ground for roughly 2,500 years without a real break — from the Middle Kingdom through the Coptic period. The German Institute of Archaeology, which has excavated here for decades, considers it one of the longest continuously used cemeteries anywhere in ancient Egypt.

Nearly 2,500 Years of Continuous Burial

Dra’ Abu el-Naga stretches from the mouth of the Valley of the Kings in the north to the valley entrance leading toward El-Asasif and Deir el-Bahri in the south, split loosely into a northern and southern half. Within that span, several named points matter for locating specific tombs: Khawi el-Alamat, a wadi believed to lead to one of the earliest royal 18th Dynasty tombs; the “main hill”; the area around the Coptic monastery of Deir el-Bakhit; the wadi called Shig el-Ateyat; and the hillside and plain of El-Mandara.

The Lost Royal Tombs of the 17th Dynasty

The site’s history as a royal and private cemetery begins with the 17th Dynasty. Nineteenth-century excavations by Auguste Mariette, Giuseppe Passalacqua, Flinders Petrie, the Marquis of Northampton, and later Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon sent important 17th Dynasty artifacts to museums around the world — but left no precise record of where the royal tombs themselves actually stood.

In 1924, H. E. Winlock cross-referenced the excavators’ notes with the 20th Dynasty Tomb Robbery Papyri and concluded the royal tombs sat at the foot of the Dra’ Abu el-Naga hills, close to the private tombs, arranged in roughly the order the ancient papyri describe. A 1989 survey by Friederike Kampp challenged that: she argued the royal tombs more likely sat higher up the site, for three reasons. First, it’s unlikely private tombs of the same period would have been built directly “behind” royal ones, as Winlock’s theory implied. Second, rock-cut tombs in the Khawi el-Alamat and “main hill” areas resemble Middle Kingdom corridor saff-tombs, but with architectural changes suggesting a later evolution of that form. Third, near the top of the “main hill,” close to the monastery of Deir el-Bakhit, three unusually large tombs — each a courtyard, a vestibule, and a single-pillared room opening onto a deep shaft — are almost certainly 17th Dynasty royal burials.

Around the same time, Daniel Polz reached similar conclusions independently and has continued excavating in search of further proof. His work in front of Khawi el-Alamat uncovered tomb structures comparable to the lost tomb of Tetiky (TT15) in the plain of El-Mandara: a trapezoidal, mudbrick-walled courtyard with a central shaft and a small mudbrick cult chapel built inside the courtyard, west of the shaft.

Decline and Revival After Hatshepsut

From the reign of Hatshepsut until the end of the 18th Dynasty, Dra’ Abu el-Naga lost much of its importance as a burial ground. Some officials were still buried here, though, and hundreds of minor tombs accumulated over time — enough that this remains one of the densest concentrations of tombs anywhere in the Theban Necropolis.

The site regained relevance just after the Amarna period. Alongside the tombs of Huy (TT40) and Nay (TT271) at nearby Qurnet Murai, one of the earliest post-Amarna tombs built anywhere in the necropolis belongs to Parennefer, a high priest of Amun, part of a small cluster of tombs dating to the very end of the 18th Dynasty and the start of the 19th.

The Ramesside Elite of El-Mandara

The most important Ramesside-period (19th–20th Dynasty) tombs sit in the upper part of Dra’ Abu el-Naga South, on the hill of El-Mandara. High priests of Amun, a Viceroy of Kush, and senior military officials connected to Egypt’s southern territories all built large, elaborate tombs here, most topped with mudbrick pyramid superstructures and fronted by pylon-flanked courtyards. Smaller Ramesside tombs are scattered throughout the rest of Dra’ Abu el-Naga, just as they are elsewhere in the necropolis. Among the best known of these is the tomb of Bakenkhons (TT35), High Priest of Amun under Ramesses II.

Later Reuse, From Usurpation to Ibis Burials

After the 20th Dynasty, tombs across Dra’ Abu el-Naga were usurped and reused, the same pattern seen throughout the necropolis. Only one tomb was newly cut here during the Late Period, at El-Mandara — its owner reused the existing courtyard and façade of the well-known tomb of Baken-khonsu (TT35). Under the Ptolemies, some tombs in the plain at the foot of the main hill were repurposed to house ibis burials. By Coptic times the area was fully resettled, and the substantial ruins of the monastery at Deir el-Bakhit still show how prosperous that later community was.

Visiting Dra’ Abu el-Naga Today

Dra’ Abu el-Naga falls within the general Tombs of the Nobles ticketing area of Luxor’s West Bank, alongside Sheikh Abd el-Qurna and El-Khokha. Unlike those neighbors, it doesn’t have one clearly established “must-see” open tomb — most visits here are made by people specifically interested in the 17th Dynasty royal-tomb debate or in the Coptic ruins at Deir el-Bakhit, rather than casual sightseers. Which individual tombs are accessible on any given day varies, so it’s worth checking with the west bank ticket office or a local guide before planning a stop here on its own.

The Tombs of Dra’ Abu el-Naga

TT1–100

Tomb	Owner	Title	Period
TT11	Djehuty	Overseer of the Treasury	Reign of Hatshepsut
TT12	Hery	Overseer of the Granary of Queen Ahhotep	17th–18th Dynasty
TT13	Shuroy	Chief of the Brazier-Bearers of Amun	20th Dynasty
TT14	Huy	Priest of Amenhotep, the Image of Amun	19th Dynasty
TT15	Tetiky	Son of Rahotep, Mayor of Thebes	18th Dynasty
TT16	Panehsy	Prophet of Amenhotep of the Forecourt	19th Dynasty
TT17	Nebamun	Scribe and Physician of the King	18th Dynasty
TT18	Baki	Chief Weigher of the Gold of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT19	Amenmose	First Prophet of Amenhotep of the Forecourt	20th Dynasty
TT20	Montukherkhopshef	Mayor of Busiris	18th Dynasty
TT35	Bakenkhons	High Priest of Amun	Reign of Ramesses II, 19th Dynasty

TT101–200

Tomb	Owner	Title	Period
TT140	Kefia (Neferronpet)	Goldworker and Portrait Sculptor	18th Dynasty
TT141	Bakenkhons	Wab-priest at the Fore of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT142	Samut	Overseer of Works of Amun-Ra in Karnak	18th Dynasty
TT143	Unknown	—	—
TT144	Nu	Overseer of Estate Labor	18th Dynasty
TT145	Nebamon	Head of Bowmen	18th Dynasty
TT146	Nebamon	Overseer of the Granary of Amun, Counter of Grain	18th Dynasty
TT147	Heby (possibly)	Scribe, Counter of Cattle, Head Elder of the Portal in Karnak	—
TT148	Amenemopet	Priest of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT149	Amenmose	Royal Scribe, Overseer of Hunters of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT150	Userhet	Overseer of Cattle of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT151	Hety	Scribe, Counter of Cattle of the God’s Wife of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT152	Unknown	—	18th Dynasty, usurped Ramesside
TT153	Unknown	—	—
TT154	Tati	Cupbearer	18th Dynasty
TT155	Intef	Great Herald of the King	18th Dynasty
TT156	Pennesuttawy	Captain of Troops, Governor of the South Lands	19th Dynasty
TT157	Nebwenenef	High Priest of Amun	19th Dynasty
TT158	Thonefer	Third Prophet of Amun	20th Dynasty
TT159	Raia	Fourth Priest of Amun	20th Dynasty
TT160	Besenmut	True King’s Acquaintance	26th Dynasty
TT161	Nakht	Bearer of Floral Offerings of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT162	Kenamon	Mayor of Thebes, Overseer of the Granary of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT163	Amenemhat	Mayor of Thebes, Royal Scribe	19th Dynasty
TT164	Intef	Scribe of Recruits	18th Dynasty
TT165	Nehemaway	Goldsmith	18th Dynasty
TT166	Ramose	Overseer of Works in Karnak, Overseer of Cattle	Late 18th–Early 19th Dynasty
TT167	Unknown	—	18th Dynasty
TT168	Any	Divine Father, Chosen Lector of the Lord of the Gods	19th Dynasty
TT169	Senena	Head Goldsmith of Amun	18th Dynasty

TT201–300

Tomb	Owner	Title	Period
TT231	Nebamun	Scribe, Counter of Grain of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT232	Tharwas	Scribe of the Divine Seal of the Amun Treasury	Ramesside Period
TT233	Saroy and Amenhotep	Royal Scribe of the Offering Table; Overseer of the Hunters of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT234	Roy	Mayor	18th Dynasty
TT236	Hornakht	Second Prophet of Amun, Overseer of the Treasury of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT237	Wennefer	Chief Lector-Priest	Ramesside Period
TT241	Ahmose	Scribe of Divine Writings, Head of the Mysteries in the House of the Morning	18th Dynasty
TT255	Roy	Royal Scribe, Steward of the Estates of Horemheb and Amun	18th Dynasty
TT260	User	Scribe, Weigher of Amun, Overseer of Fields of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT261	Khaemwaset	Wab-priest of Amenhotep I	18th Dynasty
TT262	Unknown	Overseer of Fields	18th Dynasty
TT282	Nakhtmin	Troop Commander, Head of Bowmen, Overseer of the South Lands	19th Dynasty
TT283	Roma (Roy)	High Priest of Amun	19th Dynasty
TT284	Pahemnetjer	Scribe of Offerings of All Gods	Ramesside Period
TT285	Iny	Head of the Magazines of Mut	Ramesside Period
TT286	Niay	Scribe of the Table	Ramesside Period
TT287	Pendua	Wab-priest of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT288	Bakenkhons	Scribe of the Divine Book of Khons	Ramesside Period
TT289	Setau	Viceroy of Kush, Overseer of the South Lands, Chief Bowman of Kush	19th Dynasty
TT293	Ramessesnakht	High Priest of Amun	20th Dynasty
TT300	Anhotep	Viceroy of Kush	19th Dynasty

TT301–400

Tomb	Owner	Title	Period
TT301	Hori	Scribe of the Table of Pharaoh, Amun Domain	Ramesside Period
TT302	Paraemheb	Overseer of the Magazine	Ramesside Period
TT303	Paser	Head of the Magazine of Amun, Third Prophet of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT304	Piay	Scribe of the Offering-Table of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT305	Paser	Wab-priest in Front of Amun	Ramesside Period
TT306	Irdjanen	Door-Opener of the Amun Domain	Ramesside Period
TT307	Thonefer	—	Ramesside Period
TT332	Penrenutet	Chief Watchman of the Granary of the Amun Domain	Ramesside Period
TT333 & TT334	Unknown	—	18th Dynasty
TT344	Piay	Overseer of Cattle	Ramesside Period
TT375–379	Unknown	—	Ramesside Period
TT393 & TT396	Unknown	—	18th Dynasty
TT394 & TT395	Unknown	—	Ramesside Period

TT401–415

Tomb	Owner	Title	Period
TT401	Nebseni	Overseer of Goldsmiths of Amun	18th Dynasty
TT402	Unknown	—	18th Dynasty