Qurnet Murai
Qurnet Murai necropolis
Qurnet Murai is a small hill located in the southernmost part of the private necropolis at Thebes. It is situated directly behind Kom el-Hetan, the great funerary temple of Amenhotep III. As with Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, the occupation of the site began during the second half of the 11th Dynasty. Several huge saff-tombs dating back to this epoch are nowadays hidden behind modern houses. The presence and expansion of the present village have caused the permanent destruction and disappearance of numerous tombs in this area.
Although the whole hillside is honeycombed with rock-cut tombs (mostly undecorated), only seventeen have been placed on the official list of numbered tombs. During the last decade, even some of these tombs have vanished.
Apart from a few tombs dating either to the first half of the 18th Dynasty or the Ramesside era (19th–20th Dynasties), the majority of Qurnet Murai tombs date to the reigns of Amenhotep III, Ay, and Tutankhamen. The vicinity of the royal funerary temples of these kings and the neighborhood of Amenhotep’s city of Malkata are the main reasons for the popularity of Qurnet Murai during the late 18th Dynasty.
Cemetery for officials of the New Kingdom administration in Thebes
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High-ranking officials of this era were buried at Qurnet Murai. Examples include the Viceroy of Nubia Merimose and the famous architect Amenhotep, son of Hapu.
In Coptic times the northern part of the hillock was dominated by the monastery of St Mark, one of the best preserved ancient Coptic buildings on the west bank of Thebes. The most important tombs at Qurnet Murai are listed below in chronological order, according to their numbers (TT=Theban Tomb), and the name and title of the tomb owners.
TT40 – Amenhotep-Huy, Viceroy of Kush; reign of Tutankhamun
TT221 – Hormin, Scribe of troops in the palace of the king on the West of Thebes; reign of Ramesses III
TT222 – Heqamaatranakht called Turo, High priest of Monthu, 20th Dynasty
TT223 – Karakhamon, first ka(?)–priest, Late Period
TT235 – Userhet, High priest of Monthu, 20th Dynasty
TT270 – Amenemwia, wab–priest, lector–priest of Ptah–Sokar, 19th Dynasty
TT271 – Nay, Royal scribe, reign of Aye.
TT272 – Khaemopet Divine Father of Amun in the west, lector–priest of the Sokar temple, Ramesside Period, 20th Dynasty
TT273 – Sayemiotf, Scribe in the estate of his lord, Ramesside Period
TT274 – Amenwahsu, High priest of Monthu of Tod and of Thebes, sem–priest in the Ramesseum in the estate of Amun, reign of Ramesses II – Merenptah, 19th dynasty
TT275 – Sebekmose, Head wab–priest, Divine Father in the temples of king Amenhotep III and Sokar, Ramesside Period
TT276 – Amenemopet, Overseer of the treasury of gold and silver, Judge, Overseer of the cabinet, reign of Thutmose IV, 18th Dynasty
TT277 – Amenemonet, Divine father in the reign of king Amenhotep III, 19th Dynasty
TT278 – Amenemheb, Herdsman of Amun–Ra, Ramesside Period, 20th Dynasty
TT380 – Ankhefen–Re–Horakhty, Chief in Thebes, Ptolemaic Period
TT381 – Amenemonet, Messenger of the King to every land, reign of Ramesses II
TT382 – Usermontu, First Prophet of Monthu, reign of Ramesses II
TT383 – Merymose, Viceroy of Kush, reign of Amenhotep III
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