Tomb -529-

Tomb -529- is situated in the area of Lower Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna, in between Theban Tomb 13 6 and Theban Tomb 137. In December 2025 we started work at Theban Tomb 136, tomb - 529-, and Theban Tomb 137. These tombs were until recently hidden under modern houses, which were built on top and in front of many of the tombs at Qurna. Between 2006 and 2010, the houses at Qurna were demolished as part of a countrywide policy of removing modern buildings from archaeological sites, and the inhabitants were relocated to new villages. As a result of the demolition the houses, the tombs are now surrounded by high heaps of debris and the remains of partially demolished buildings.

Until we started work at tomb -529- in December 2025, nothing was known about the tomb except that it was located in between Theban Tomb 136 and Theban Tomb 137. Our first investigation of tomb -529- shows that this is a large corridor, seemingly without decoration. As it is currently filled with modern debris, rubble, and waste, we were unable to reach the end of the corridor, the ceiling of which seems to be sloping down towards the end. The architecture suggests that tomb -529- dates to the Middle Kingdom, with other examples of this type of Middle Kingdom corridor tomb being known from the Theban Necropolis (e.g. Theban Tomb 60, Theban Tomb 61, and Theban Tomb 119).

As we were clearing the area in front of the entrance to -529- in December 2025, we found a deposit of numerous small pottery vessels, spread out on the bedrock in front of the tomb entrance. The deposit was located in situ and contained a total of ca. 180 complete vessels, a cow's horn, fragments of several small pottery dishes, and numerous fragments of broken vessels, amounting to ca. 200 vessels in total. A first examination of the size and shape suggests that these vessels date to the Middle Kingdom (11th and early 12th Dynasty), with similar vessel types known from Tomb MMA 28 at Deir el-Bahari and from the foundation deposits of the pyramid of Senwosret I at Lisht.

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View into tomb -529-, the first 10 meters of the corridor after clearing.

Deposit of ca. 200 pottery vessels in front of the entrance to tomb -529-, detail.