Where are the Tombs of the Nobles?

The main areas on this map where the tombs are found are those called Qurnet Marrai, Deir el-Medina, Sheikh abd el-Qurna, Khokha, Assasif, and Dra abu el-Naga. Villages have grown up in the past 200 years or so around the sites of most these tombs, no doubt largely due to the pickings which can be gained from selling antiquities. Many of the Tombs of the Nobles were in fact lived in by local Egyptians until the period 1910-1920, at which point the TT numbered tombs were purchased from them by the authorities and secured. However, there are still a large number of undecorated tombs in the back yards of houses which are used as storerooms and as animal shelters.

Clicking on will show photos and/or Quicktime VR panoramas of some of these places.

An important development which started late in 1996 was a programme to try and rehouse as many of the people as possible who live in the area of the tombs. A series of short notes I compiled on Luxor after our 1996 season goes into this in more detail, and includes some photographs.