Sheikh Abd el-Qurna is the single most visited part of the Theban Necropolis’s private cemeteries — and for good reason. It holds the largest concentration of painted noble tombs anywhere on Luxor’s West Bank, named for the small shrine of a local saint that still sits on top of the hill.
The Three Parts of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna
The cemetery known today as Sheikh Abd el-Qurna actually covers three distinct areas. The main hill, ringed by an “upper enclosure wall” built under Sir Robert Mond in the early 20th century, is the core of the site. Below it, a plain runs west from the foot of the hill directly toward the Ramesseum. A third, smaller area — the “lower enclosure,” also walled under Mond’s supervision — is topographically closer to El-Khokha but grouped with Sheikh Abd el-Qurna by tradition.
That lower enclosure marks the end of the northern access road up to the main hill, effectively a continuation of El-Khokha. Many 18th Dynasty tombs line the sides of that road, though it seems to have fallen out of use after the Amarna period — three important 19th Dynasty tombs were later built directly across its former path.
From Middle Kingdom Beginnings to New Kingdom’s Favorite Cemetery
The earliest tombs at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna date to the second half of the 11th Dynasty and the very start of the 12th. During the Middle Kingdom, every slope of the hill was in use; by the New Kingdom, only the eastern half was still being built on, though every side originally offered a view of the royal mortuary temples and causeways below. Only two of the hill’s many saff- and corridor-style Middle Kingdom tombs — from what Herbert Winlock catalogued as cemeteries 800 and 1100 — ever made it onto the official numbered list of Theban tombs. Dieter Arnold studied the architectural development of these Middle Kingdom tombs in his publication on the tomb of Intef, and while no decorated 17th Dynasty tombs survive here, Friederike Kampp has pointed to undated architectural features that confirm the hill was still in use during that period.
Egypt’s Most Prestigious Address for the Dead
The first decorated New Kingdom tombs at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna date to the reigns of Ahmose, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I. From then until the reign of Amenhotep III, this became the most sought-after burial ground in the entire necropolis — the highest-ranking officials and priests built here, arranging their tombs to follow the geographic order of the royal mortuary temples from north to south, a pattern first noted by Georg Steindorff and Walther Wolf and later worked out in detail by Wolfgang Helck.
By the end of Amenhotep II’s reign, the upper slopes were essentially full, which pushed tombs from the reigns of Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III down into the lower ground. Space wasn’t the only reason: officials of Amenhotep III were building a new, larger style of tomb, closer in scale to a small funerary temple, which needed better-quality rock than the upper hillside offered — the same pattern that shaped tomb placement at El-Asasif during the same period.
Ramesside Reuse and the Cemetery’s Last Chapter
The lower regions of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna saw a second wave of use in the first half of the Ramesside period (19th–20th Dynasties), with three major tombs built in the “lower enclosure” area. Most smaller Ramesside tombs, though, were simply cut into the side walls of existing 18th Dynasty courtyards. By the 20th Dynasty, wholesale tomb usurpation had become common, with many tombs receiving new decoration or structural changes under new owners. During the Third Intermediate Period, as elsewhere in the necropolis, most burials here were simple ones, and no new rock-cut tombs were built at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna after that.
Visiting Sheikh Abd el-Qurna Today
As the most-visited cemetery in the Theban Necropolis, Sheikh Abd el-Qurna is set up for tourism in a way that El-Khokha, Dra’ Abu el-Naga, and El-Asasif aren’t — tombs here are sold in small ticketed clusters rather than one general entry. Five tombs stand out above the rest: Rekhmire (TT100), Sennefer (TT96), Ramose (TT55), Menna (TT69), and Nakht (TT52) — see our Tombs of the Nobles guide for what makes each one worth the climb. One curiosity worth knowing before you go: TT71, built for Senenmut, Hatshepsut’s powerful steward and architect, was never actually used for its intended burial.
The Ramesseum and Valley of the Kings are both close by, making Sheikh Abd el-Qurna an easy anchor for a longer west-bank itinerary.
The Tombs of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna
The most important tombs at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, listed by number (TT = Theban Tomb):
| Tomb | Owner | Title | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| TT21 | User | Scribe, Steward of King Thutmose I | 18th Dynasty |
| TT22 | Wah | Later usurped by Meryamun | 18th Dynasty |
| TT23 | Tjay | — | — |
| TT30 | Khonsmose | Amun Treasury Official | Ramesside Period |
| TT31 | Khonsu | — | — |
| TT38 | Djeserkaraseneb | Scribe, Counter of Grain in the Granary of Divine Offerings of Amun | — |
| TT41 | Amenemopet (Ipy) | Amun Temple High Steward | — |
| TT42 | Amenmose | Captain of Troops, Eyes of the King in the Two Lands of Retenu | — |
| TT43 | Neferrenpet | — | — |
| TT44 | Amenemhab | Wab-priest in Front of Amun | — |
| TT45 | Djehuty | Steward of the High Priest of Amun, Mery | — |
| TT46 | Ramose | Steward of the Mansion of the Aten, Fanbearer at the Right of the King | — |
| TT52 | Nakht | Scribe, Astronomer of Amun | 18th Dynasty |
| TT55 | Ramose | Vizier | 18th Dynasty |
| TT57 | Khaemhat (Mahu) | — | — |
| TT66 | Hepu | — | — |
| TT69 | Menna | Scribe of the Fields of the Lord of the Two Lands | 18th Dynasty |
| TT71 | Senenmut | Steward of Amun (tomb unused) | Reign of Hatshepsut |
| TT83 | Amethu (Ahmose) | — | — |
| TT96 | Sennefer | Mayor of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries and Gardens of Amun | 18th Dynasty |
| TT100 | Rekhmire | Vizier | 18th Dynasty |
| TT109 | Min | Royal Tutor | — |
| TT120 | Anen | — | — |
| TT170 | Nebmehyt | Scribe of Recruits of the Ramesseum, Estate of Amun | — |
| TT171 | Unknown | — | — |
| TT224 | Ahmose Humay | Overseer of the Estate of the God’s Wife, Overseer of the Double Granaries | — |
| TT225 | Unknown (perhaps Amenemhet) | High Priest of Hathor | — |
| TT226 | Heqareshu | Royal Scribe, Overseer of Nurses of the King | — |
| TT227 | Unknown | — | — |
| TT228 | Amenemmose | Scribe of the Amun Treasury | — |
| TT229 | Unknown | — | — |
| TT230 | Men (?) | Scribe of Troops of Pharaoh | — |
| TT249 | Neferrenpet | Supplier of Dates/Cakes in the Temple of Amenhotep III | — |
| TT251 | Amenmose | Royal Scribe, Overseer of Cattle and Magazine of Amun | — |
| TT252 | Senimen | Steward, Nurse of the God’s Wife | — |
| TT259 | Hori | Wab-priest, Head of the Outline-Draughtsmen in the Gold House of the Amun Domain | — |
| TT263 | Piay | Scribe in the Granary, Scribe of Accounts in the Ramesseum | — |
| TT269 | Unknown | — | — |
| TT280 | Meketre | Chief Steward, Chancellor | Early Middle Kingdom |
| TT309 | Unknown | — | — |
| TT317 | Thutnefer | Scribe of the Counting of Corn in the Granary of Divine Offerings | — |
| TT318 | Amenmose | Necropolis Worker of Amun | — |
| TT331 | Penne (Sunero) | High Priest of Monthu | — |
| TT343 | Benia | — | — |
| TT367 | Paser | Head of the Bowmen, Companion of His Majesty | — |
| TT368 | Amenhotep Huy | Overseer of Sculptors of Amun in Thebes | — |
| TT384 | Nebmehyt | Priest of Amun in the Ramesseum | — |
| TT385 | Hunefer | Mayor of Thebes, Overseer of the Granary of Divine Offerings of Amun | — |
| TT403 | Merymaat | Temple Scribe, Steward | — |
