Qau el-Kebir

Qau el-Kebir was the ancient Egyptian capital of the 10th nome of Upper Egypt. It is located about 45 kms south of the modern town of Assiut, in Middle Egypt. Its ancient name was Tjebu, “the place of the sandals”. After the invasion of Alexander the Great, it was renamed Antaeopolis. Because of its heritage, there are extensive cemeteries in the area, dating as early as from the Predynastic Badarian Period and going through to the Ptolemaic Period. Today Qau is no longer a large settlement and the remains of its cemeteries have been badly plundered and vandalised. Of these remains, the most significant belonged to several governors of the region in the 12th Dynasty: they are still impressive and were the biggest tombs erected for non-royal people during the Middle Kingdom. Their plans resemble temples and were approached by a long stepped ramp. The tombs themselves contained courtyards, pillared courts with rock-cut statues and spacious chapels inside the rock-cut section of the monument. The English archaeologist, W.M. F. Petrie excavated and recorded those tombs. Due to the amount of damage inflicted on this magnificent cemetery, most of the history of the region has been lost forever, but its remains still testify to its forgotten grandeur.

Nemtywy, a dual-falcon god, was the most important deity in this area: many citizens were named after him, both here and in other nearby towns. When the Macedonians took control over Egypt, Nemtywy was called Antaios, and the city was renamed Antaeopolis. It was a large city and Ptolemy VI erected a huge temple there, the remains of which have now, unfortunately, disappeared. Probably the most well-known artefact to have come from this place belonged to a New Kingdom Period governor of the area named May. His statue, now in Berlin (Registry No.19286) shows the count, seated on a box chair dressed in a kilt and wearing the Gold of Honour, a royal gift given to prominent and favourite officials of the New Kingdom rulers – in this case, Thutmose III.