El-Tarif

Welcome to El-Tarif, the oldest and most northern of the noble necropolises on the West Bank of ancient Thebes. While many visitors flock to the colorful tombs of the Valley of the Kings or the grand mortuary temples of the New…

We begin our exploration at the Saff-Dawaba, the burial complex attributed to Sehertawy Intef the First, the first ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty to claim the title of king. This monument is a sprawling architectural statement,…

Next, we visit the Saff-el-Kishash, the tomb of Wahankh Intef the Second, who reigned for over fifty years and solidified Theban control over much of southern Egypt. His tomb is similar in design to that of his predecessor but…

The third and final of the great Eleventh Dynasty monuments at El-Tarif is the Saff-el-Baqar, attributed to Nakhtnebtepnefer Intef the Third. His reign was the shortest of the three, yet his tomb represents the final evolution of…

While the Saff tombs are the most prominent features of El-Tarif, the site's history stretches back much further, into the Predynastic era. Long before the first kings of the Eleventh Dynasty claimed this ground, El-Tarif was…

A fascinating, though often overlooked, part of El-Tarif's history is its reuse in more recent centuries. For much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the massive courtyards and porticos of the Saff tombs were used…

The term 'Saff' means 'row' in Arabic, and it is the defining characteristic of the tombs here at El-Tarif. This architectural form is unique to the early Middle Kingdom in Thebes and represents a critical innovation in funerary…

Our visit to El-Tarif has taken us back to the very origins of Theban majesty. In these austere and powerful Saff tombs, we have found the ancestors of the great monuments of the New Kingdom. …