BENI HASSAN

The ascent to the tombs at Beni Hassan reminded me much of the walk to the necropolis at Tel el-Amarna, only the staircase at Beni Hassan is much better cared for (and it overlooks a cozy guest house at the base of the site). Beni Hassan is home to several tombs from the First Intermediate and early Middle Periods, when fragmentary regional states were ruled by independent kings or nomarchs (the “feudal period” of ancient Egypt, according to William). It is on the east bank of the Nile—strange because a city’s dead were usually laid to rest on the west bank, where the sun sets.

The first two tombs we visited were of Khety and Baget II (tombs 17 and 15, respectively); both have a layout I consider strange, even though I probably say so partially because my recent memories of Egyptian architecture are from dates far later than the 11th dynasty. Each tomb consisted of a single open room with a few columns (four in Khety’s tomb and two in Baget’s, all of which had been robbed so that only their imprints in the floor remain). On the floor, the outlines of several shafts can be seen; on the ceiling, an obtuse pitched roof of sorts hangs down about six inches, covered in colorful hieroglyphs. Baget’s tomb has a small niche in the far right corner, in which the remains of a stone statue sit.

Here the decorations are all in plain paint, a cost-effective measure. Though there are no reliefs to be found, the striking shapes and colors make for an impressive display. The east (far) wall of both tombs is decorated with rows of wrestling figures, which William explained are men carrying out army exercises, so as to be ready for combat in defense of the deceased if need be.

Other images include very detailed depictions of farm animals and moderately-toned servants presenting items to the west wall of the tomb, symbolic of the inner or recipient (I snuck in a few pictures—I’m sure the guard didn’t notice). Most of the art is typical of the Old Kingdom style.

What I like most about these tombs is how powerful their architecture and décor seem despite their simple design. Such was not the case with the next two tombs, also formed as if they were a two-item set, belonging to Khnemhotpe II (tomb 3) and Amenemhat Ameni (tomb 2): these are adorned on the outside with proto-Doric columns and rectangular pylons, and inside boast three-domed ceilings, painted with a yellow and black pattern of Xs in boxes (obscured in some places by the names of 19th-century adventurers, written in smoke). At first glance, the anterooms look more like they belong in a Greek Orthodox church than carved into the side of a scarp.

A second pylon stands at the exit of the anteroom. It was about the time when I reached the exit of this room in Khnemhotpe’s tomb that I discovered that the pylons bore inscribed glyphs painted sea-green. I had never seen anything like this monotone painting style before, and I was quite surprised when I found it again after a closer look at the bottom register of imagery in the anteroom (it bordered the whole place!). The rest of the tomb is decorated with both painted and inscribed images, all in neat rows. These tombs are no doubt more structured and linear than the first two, but I prefer the way tombs 15 and 17 are organized (simple yet quaint). When I walked outside I found Page itching to explain something wondrous to someone, and I of course declined…

…just kidding! Page realized that on the entrance pylon was the only mention of a king we had seen yet: one cartouche, several lines in length, listing all of the king’s names.