The Tombs
There are more than twenty five tombs facing the base of the cliff
front. Six tombs are located at the north side near Darb El-Malik.
Nineteen of them are located at the south side. If you are going to
navigate through the tombs, we do recommend a tour guide to be with you
for safety reasons. These tombs were built highly complicated to protect
them from the thieves, therefore a visitor could get lost. Most of the
tombs start with an open court that leads to three chambers.
Some of the
tombs are decorated with papyrus columns that meet at a recess in the
rear end which have a statue of the deceased looking toward the
entrance. The famous lyrics of the Hymn to the Sun, which was composed
by Akhenaten, is always found in the decorations of each tomb. The
following section describes the famous tombs located in Tel El-Amarna.
Ay's Tomb
This is considered to be the finest tomb remaining in the necropolis.
The drawings show Ay and his wife receiving gold collars from Akhenaten
and Nefertiti while the surrounding crowd seems cheerful by this honor.
There are some descriptive scenes for the streets of ancient Akhetaten
which are closely observed and described. Other drawings describe a few
intimate moments in the palace of Ay; a woman of the harem having her
hair done, other girls are playing the harp and dancing, while others
clean the house and prepare the food. In the same temple, the most
complete and correct version of the Hymn to the Sun is decorating the
right hand side of the doorway.
Huya's Tomb
Huya, or Yuya, was the steward of Queen Tiyi, the queen mother and wife of
Amenhotep III.
A Royal banquet is located to the left and right of the main hall. The
banquet contains drawings for the king, queen and their children. One of
the walls has a drawing for the king accompanying his Queen Tiyi to the
Sunshade temple that was erected for her.
Meri-re II
Meri-re II was the superintendent of the palace of Queen Nefertiti. A
unique drawing on the right wall features a celebration to honor
leaders from other countries that brought some exotic gifts to the
Queen. The visitors are shown in their native dresses. Other drawings
show the celebration and the Pharaoh's hospitality.
Meri-re I
He was a high rank priest of Aton.
A table full of offerings including a beautiful representation of a
colorful rainbow is drawn on the left hand wall of the main chamber
below the Aton disk. On the right hand wall, a scene of the Aton Temple
which shows a depiction of the Akhetaten harbor, the palaces and the
gardens of the ancient city.
Panhesy
He was the chief servitor of the Aton in Akhetaten. The facade that
decorated the outside of his tomb is still preserved. A group of Aton
worshippers are featured on the top of the outer lintel of the entrance.
The group of the featured Aton
Disk worshipers include the king's sister and two of her servants. In
the corridor walls of the tomb, the deceased is featured as an elderly
man sitting beside his daughter.
