On Luxor’s West Bank, Qurnet Murai is a low hill at the southern edge of the Theban Necropolis’s private tombs — used as a burial ground since the 11th Dynasty, though most of its surviving tombs belong to New Kingdom officials. Much of that history is now buried twice over: once under the desert, and again under the floor of the modern village built directly on top of it.
Where Qurnet Murai Sits in the Theban Necropolis
Qurnet Murai sits in the southernmost stretch of Thebes’s private necropolis, just south of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna and close to Kom el-Hetan, the ruined mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. Like its northern neighbor, the hill was first used for burials in the second half of the 11th Dynasty, when several large saff-tombs — tombs cut with a row of pillared entrances — were carved into the rock here.
That’s been the pattern at Qurnet Murai ever since: the whole hillside is honeycombed with rock-cut tombs, most of them undecorated and unrecorded, but only around seventeen have ever made it onto the official list of numbered Theban Tombs. The rest have been absorbed into the growth of the village above them.
Why Amenhotep III’s Officials Chose This Hill
Most of Qurnet Murai’s surviving tombs date to the second half of the 18th Dynasty — the reigns of Amenhotep III, Ay, and Tutankhamun — with only a handful earlier or from the Ramesside period (19th–20th Dynasties). The location explains the timing: Qurnet Murai sits close to the royal mortuary temples of these kings and to Malkata, Amenhotep III’s vast palace city on the west bank, which made it a convenient, high-status place for royal officials to be buried near their king.
Among them was Merymose, Viceroy of Kush, who governed Egypt’s southern territories under Amenhotep III. Amenhotep, son of Hapu — the architect behind several of the king’s major building projects, later worshipped as a healing god — is also believed to have been buried here, though his tomb itself has never been definitively located.
Centuries later, in the Coptic period, local tradition places a monastery dedicated to St Mark on the northern part of the hill — one of several early Christian communities that took root among the abandoned pharaonic tombs of Luxor’s west bank.
Visiting Qurnet Murai Today
Qurnet Murai isn’t set up for casual sightseeing the way Sheikh Abd el-Qurna or the Valley of the Kings are. Only a handful of its listed tombs are ever open to the public, and in practice that usually means one: TT40, the tomb of Amenhotep-Huy. It’s reached by a short, steep climb through the village lanes above the hill — not manageable for anyone with mobility concerns — but the walk is worth it. TT40’s painted walls show a procession of Nubian delegates bringing tribute before the young Tutankhamun, one of the best-preserved scenes of its kind on the west bank. Osirisnet’s tomb archive has a full photographic walkthrough if you want to see it before you go.
Entry is covered by the general Tombs of the Nobles ticket, sold at the antiquities ticket office near Medinet Habu — see our Tombs of the Nobles guide for current hours, ticket-cluster rules, and photography guidance across the noble cemeteries. Plan for 15–20 minutes at TT40 itself — most visitors fold it into a longer west-bank afternoon that also takes in El-Khokha, Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, and the Ramesseum, all close by.
The Tombs of Qurnet Murai
A few of Qurnet Murai’s tombs stand out for their art or their occupants:
- TT40 – Amenhotep-Huy, Viceroy of Kush under Tutankhamun. The only tomb here regularly open to visitors, known for its scene of Nubian tribute-bearers.
- TT383 – Merymose, Viceroy of Kush under Amenhotep III. Fragments of his sarcophagus survive, along with a stela showing him before Osiris and Hathor, now in the Cairo Museum.
- TT271 – Nay, a royal scribe from the reign of Ay.
The full list of tombs officially recorded at Qurnet Murai:
| Tomb | Owner | Title | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| TT40 | Amenhotep-Huy | Viceroy of Kush | Reign of Tutankhamun |
| TT221 | Hormin | Scribe of troops in the king’s palace on the West of Thebes | Reign of Ramesses III |
| TT222 | Heqamaatranakht (Turo) | High Priest of Monthu | 20th Dynasty |
| 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 Ay |
| 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 Thebes, sem-priest in the Ramesseum | Reign of Ramesses II–Merenptah, 19th Dynasty |
| TT275 | Sebekmose | Head wab-priest, Divine Father in the temples of Amenhotep III and Sokar | Ramesside Period |
| TT276 | Amenemopet | Overseer of the treasury of gold and silver, Judge | Reign of Thutmose IV, 18th Dynasty |
| TT277 | Amenemonet | Divine Father | Reign of Amenhotep III, 18th 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 |
