Tuna el-Gebel

Tuna el-Gebel was the necropolis of Khmun (Hermopolis Magna). It is located in Al Minya Governorate in Middle Egypt on the edge of the Western Desert, a large site functioned as the necropolis for the ancient town of Khnum or Hermopolis. The cemetery was located 11km from the city, in an area which is perhaps better known as the north-western boundary of Akhenaten’s city of Akhetaten and is marked by a boundary stela.

When visiting Tuna el-Gebel, Akhenaten’s boundary stela is the first monument to be reached, on the right hand side of the road and also the earliest monument at the site. A steep flight of stone steps leads to a tiny rock shrine cut into the escarpment and the large boundary stela which is cut into the face of the cliff. The shrine, found by a Jesuit traveller, Claud Sicard in 1714 contains the first of the Akhetaten boundary stela to be identified, with rock-cut sculptures of Akhenaten and his family and an accompanying text dated to year 6 of his reign. At the top of the stela the king and queen offer to the Aten in a typical Amarna pose, while the text below records Akhenaten’s oath not to extend the limits of his city. The royal statues on the left are now headless and support tall offering tables depicting the couple’s three eldest daughters. The stela, now much eroded is protected by large smoked glass doors. A gafir holds the key to open the doors (if he can be found!) for visitors with permission to view the stela.

Near to the modern entrance to the catacombs is the tomb of Petosiris. This tomb is constructed to look like a temple (it looks rather like Dendera). The outside is decorated in typical Late Period style, whilst the outer court is decorated in a Greek style. The tomb was constructed around the time of the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, and seems to have been decorated like this to curry favour with the new rulers of Egypt. The family tomb of Petosiris, a high priest of Thoth who probably lived around 300 BC. This temple-tomb is unique, built in pure Egyptian style with a pronaos (pillared entrance hall) at ground level and a cult chapel behind, with the burial chambers cut into the rock below ground. The inlaid wooden coffin of Petosiris can be seen in Cairo Museum. The pillared portico contains scenes of industries (jewellers, metalworkers, incense-makers and woodworkers) and agriculture. On the rear wall at either side of the entrance to the cult chapel Petosiris and his wife are seen with their relatives, with scenes of butchers and offering-bringers below.

The cult chapel contains four square pillars with the burial shaft in the centre. The wall decoration here is in Egyptian hieroglyphs, but the figures wear Greek-style clothing in a rare blend of the two distinct periods. The eastern and western halves of the chapel are dedicated to the father and brother of Petosiris respectively and show traditional funerary scenes and Egyptian deities. The extremely well-preserved and elegant reliefs are heavily influenced by both Egyptian Old Kingdom and conventional Greek style art. One of the most important texts in the chapel includes a description of works in the temples of Hermopolis. The tomb appears to have been recently cleaned and has modern lighting installed, which shows the superb reliefs at their best. Most of the original paint is still in place and the colours are soft and airy with a great deal of pale blue. This is one of the most beautiful Egyptian tombs you can ever visit.

Behind the tomb of Petosiris is the tomb of Isadora, which dates to the 2nd century AD, with it’s sparse decoration and Greek texts in memory of the lady buried here. A tragic legend is connected to Isadora – a wealthy and beautiful young girl lived in Hermopolis during the time when the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138–161) ruled over Egyptus She fell in love with a young soldier from Antinopolis (current Sheikh ‘Ibada), and they wanted to get married. However, her father refused, so the young couple decided to elope. Unfortunately, Isadora drowned while crossing the Nile. Her body was mummified, and her father built an elaborate tomb for her, featuring an elegy inscribed in Greek. At some time after her death, a cult developed around her tomb. Isadora's mummified remains are still present, encased in glass, in her mausoleum—a prominent building at Tuna el-Gebel.

Excavations have continued at Tuna el-Gebel, most recently (in the late 1990s) by the Egyptian Antiquities Organization. Remains of a church and Roman mudbrick walls have been uncovered in a town located at Nazlet Tuna to the north of the site which is mentioned in administrative papyri and where thousands of artifacts lie scattered on the ground.