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On the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Aswan, is Qubbet el-Hawa, the necropolis of the governors of Elephantine during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. These officials – the guardians of Egypt’s southernmost border – built monumental tomb complexes on the highest hill in the region as a testament to their wealth and importance. One of the most imposing complexes (QH35) belongs to Pepinakht, known as Heqaib, who led expeditions for Pepy II. He was later worshipped as a local saint at his tomb and at a sanctuary on Elephantine Island. The Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis is also an important source of textual information, containing more significant biographies than any other non-royal cemetery in Egypt. The most famous of these belongs to Harkuf, who presented a person of reduced stature to the young king Pepy II. The site has been excavated and documented over the last two decades by a team from Spain’s University of Jaén.
Image: Sarah Griffiths
