Valley of the Nobles
Valley of the Nobles (The Tombs of the Nobles) The Theban Necropolis, or The Worker’s Village, is a collection of hundreds of rock-cut tombs of nobles in ancient Egypt, discovered along the west bank of the Nile in the city of Luxor on an area called Sheik Abd El-Quran. It is located between the Ramesseum and Hatshepsut’s temple, carved into the hillside to be the final resting place of many governors, officials, administrators, generals, and others from the new kingdom (1570–1070 BC).
The Valley of the Nobles was very humble and not large or extravagant like the tombs of the Kings. In these tombs, there are many simple depictions that painted a picture of what life was like back then in ancient times. These tombs were said to have been lost through time but at least 415 Tombs were found to various characters holding priceless information.
Who Were these Nobles?
Each one of the tombs was able to convey the full life story of its inhabitants through the wonderful decorations on the tomb walls depicting every detail of their lives. One of the most famous tombs is the one belonging to Ra-Mose (Number 55) who was the Mayor of the Thebes during the End of Amenhotep III reign, his tomb consists of a rock-cut court with a central doorway leading
Valley of the Nobles
to the inner hall and under it is shafts leading to the burial chambers where his mummy was not found and the decorations were not finished because Ra-Mose moved with the new King Akhenaton to the new Capital Akht-Aton (Tell El-Amarna) where his Tomb’s decoration was left unfinished, they were made using high techniques even if we couldn’t witness the final product. He was the High Preist of Amon, he enjoyed the Great power and had a unique position. His tombs shed some light on the period of Akhenaton calling for Atonism (The Worship of Aton the Sun Disc) and on Akhenaton
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himself as a lot of information about his family and life was Known. Another example is the tomb of Re-Khmee-e (100),er 100) who was the vizier of Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II, which holds beautiful decorations that convey the arrival of foreign delegations carrying presents and tributes like agricultural products, utensils, and rare animals to the pharaoh of Egypt. Through his tomb, we were able to determine the responsibilities of the vizier.
Valley of the Nobles
The Tombs Chapel of Nakht (Number 52) belongs to a great Scribe and an astronomer in the temple of Amon during the reign of Pharaoh Tuthmosis IV while his wife was a chanter and carried many activities within Amon’s Temple. Their tomb was fairly small but it had beautiful decorations with brilliant colorful scenes. These decorations were able to convey many details about
Valley of the Nobles
the ancient days and many of their customs like Bird hunting and the influence of music in their Culture. The Tomb of Menna (Number 69) who was a land surveyor (A Tax Collector from the Farmers), is the most beautiful as it is filled with many decorations with full day-to-day scenes of ancient times which makes it completely magical.
