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Tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara

Monument at Saqqara · also called Horemheb tomb Saqqara, Memphite tomb of Horemheb, Tomb of General Horemheb

The reliefs in Horemheb's Saqqara tomb show him as army commander under Tutankhamun, around 1320 BC, with captions spelling out his military titles. On some figures a royal cobra was added to his brow after he became king.

The tomb is built like a small temple, with courts, columns and chapels, south of the Unas causeway. Horemheb never used it. As king he was buried in the Valley of the Kings, while his queen Mutnodjmet was probably buried here.

Robbers took many blocks in the early 19th century, and they went to museums such as Leiden, Bologna, Berlin and Vienna. An Anglo-Dutch expedition found the tomb again in 1975, and casts of some blocks have been set back in place. The carving is fine late Eighteenth Dynasty work, still close to the Amarna style.

What to see and read

Foreign captives

Rows of Nubian, Libyan and Asiatic prisoners brought before Horemheb, each people drawn with its own dress and features.

Gold of honour

Horemheb receives heavy gold collars, a mark of royal favour.

The added uraeus

Look closely at his brow. The small cobra is cut differently from the rest of the head.

Names you can find here

Signs to look for

  1. Falcon G5ḥr The Horus falcon spells Hor, the start of the name Horemheb.
  2. Alabaster basin W3ḥb The festival basin writes heb, the end of Horemheb, "Horus is in festival".
  3. Gold collar S12nbw The gold collar sign, nebu, goes with the scenes of Horemheb receiving gold.
  4. Throw stick T14 The throw stick marks words for foreigners in the captives scenes.
  5. Three hills N25ḫꜣst Three hills mark the foreign lands the prisoners come from.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

  • Panels with crisp, even colour are often casts of originals in Europe.
  • Zoom in on his brow to compare the cut of the cobra with the rest.
  • The courts are open to the sky. Go early, before the sun flattens the relief.

Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

Why does Horemheb have two tombs?

He built this one as a general under Tutankhamun. When he became king he made a royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV57), where he was buried.

Where are the missing reliefs from Horemheb's tomb?

Many blocks taken in the 19th century are in museums in Leiden, Bologna, Berlin, Vienna and elsewhere.

Also at Saqqara

Monument

Step Pyramid of Djoser

The writing at the Step Pyramid is sparse but early. Here the king's own name, the Horus Netjerikhet, is carved inside a serekh on reliefs of his jubilee race, around 2650 BC; the name Djoser comes from much later visitors.

Monument

Serapeum of Saqqara

In the Serapeum the writing to find is on a few of its giant stone sarcophagi: columns of hieroglyphs and royal cartouches, among them the name of Amasis of the 26th Dynasty. The galleries were the burial place of the Apis bulls, living images of Ptah of Memphis.

Monument

Pyramid of Unas

The Pyramid of Unas holds the oldest Pyramid Texts, carved around 2350 BC: columns of hieroglyphs filled with blue paint that cover the king's burial rooms from floor to ceiling.

Monument

Pyramid of Teti

Inside the Pyramid of Teti, first king of the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2345 BC), the walls carry Pyramid Texts in columns of hieroglyphs under a gabled ceiling of stars. It is the second royal set of these spells, after Unas.

Monument

Mastaba of Ti

In the Mastaba of Ti every scene has its hieroglyph captions: you can read what the farmers, boat builders and herdsmen are doing, and sometimes what they say. The reliefs, from around 2400 BC, are some of the finest of the Old Kingdom.

Monument

Mastaba of Mereruka

The Mastaba of Mereruka is packed with captioned scenes and long titles carved in hieroglyphs, in more than thirty rooms. Mereruka was vizier of King Teti around 2340 BC, and this is the largest tomb of any Old Kingdom official at Saqqara.

Monument

Mastaba of Ptahhotep and Akhethotep

Ptahhotep's chapel keeps some of the best-preserved colour of any Old Kingdom relief, with crisp painted hieroglyphs and a long offering list you can read item by item. The tomb dates to the late Fifth Dynasty, around 2400 BC.

Museum

Imhotep Museum

The Imhotep Museum, at the entrance to Saqqara, is named after the man whose name is carved on a statue base of King Djoser, the one inscription from his lifetime known to name him. Its well-lit cases hold inscribed finds from the site, a good place to learn the signs before the worn tomb walls.

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.