The Undecorated Tomb No. 18 at Beni Hassan and the Succession of Its Ruling Family

Abstract

The uninscribed and unfinished tomb No. 18 at Beni Hassan represents a key to understanding the architectural development of the tombs in this site as well as to the study of the succession of members of the nomarchic family of the 16th Upper Egyptian province. The location, approach, and design of the chapel, as well as the number and type of architraves and columns place the tomb immediately after the neighbouring one, No. 17, of Khety I, and make it likely that it belonged to the latter’s son, Khety II. It is argued that following the successive deaths of Khety I and Khety II, probably due to the bellicose conditions at the time, Khnumhotep I of tomb No. 14, a likely son or descendant of Baqet III of tomb No. 15, became a governor and cut his tomb adjacent to that of the latter. The architectural and artistic similarities between the two tombs are striking. An examination of the skeletal remains of Baqet II, Khety I, and probably Khety II, shows evidence of a possible involvement in wars and indicates that they died at young age. The representation of specific individuals and certain themes in a number of tombs at Beni Hassan suggests that these tombs belonged to members of the same family and that all date to a relatively short period in the second half of the Eleventh Dynasty and the first half of the Twelfth.