Deir el-Bahri: The Sacred Valley

The most famous and frequently visited temple in Western Thebes is undoubtedly the magnificent mortuary temple built by Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri. This valley opens into a sweeping natural amphitheater, bounded to the west by the sheer rocky cliffs of the Theban mountain (which separates it from the adjoining Valley of the Kings), to the north by the hill of Dra’ Abu el-Naga, and to the south by the ridge of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna.

The ancient Egyptians called this valley Djeser (“The Sacred Place”). It was dedicated to the goddess Hathor, a deity of many attributes who was deeply associated with funerary worship in the Theban necropolis.

The name Deir el-Bahri is Arabic for “Monastery of the North,” derived from a Coptic monastery that once stood on the site but has since been destroyed. Historically, no fewer than three temples were built side by side in this valley. They belonged, respectively, to:

• Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II (11th Dynasty, c. 2055–2004 BC) [shown in red on the plan]
• Queen Hatshepsut (Maat-Ka-Re, 18th Dynasty, c. 1473–1458 BC) [shown in green on the plan]
• Thutmose III (Men-Kheper-Re, 18th Dynasty, c. 1479–1425 BC) [shown in yellow on the plan]

The Deir el-Bahri Cache

Just beyond the mountain range forming the southern boundary of the Deir el-Bahri valley lies a rocky precipice, nearly invisible from a distance. This hidden location originally housed the shaft tomb of the royal wife Inhapy (TT320), which later became world-famous as the “Deir el-Bahri Cache.”

In 1881, Gaston Maspero, Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, grew alarmed by a sudden influx of royal artifacts appearing on the antiquities market. Following a thorough investigation that led to the identification and confession of a local tomb-robbing ring, Maspero excavated the site. There, he made one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in history: the hidden mummies of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs, including Ramesses II and his father, Seti I (19th Dynasty, c. 1294–1279 BC).

This hidden cache was the result of a desperate rescue mission by the Theban priests of the 21st Dynasty, during the reigns of Pharaoh Siamun (c. 978–959 BC) and High Priest Pinedjem II (c. 990–969 BC). By the end of the 20th Dynasty, expert thieves had already begun plundering the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Fearing further profanation of the most revered royal remains, the priests made the strategic decision to secretly relocate the mummies to this secluded, highly secure rocky precipice in the Theban mountains, far from the reach of tomb robbers.