This is a double tomb for two men, NiankhKhnum (Life belongs to Khnum) and Khnumhotep (Khnum is satisifed)who lived some time during the 5th Dynasty, either in the reign of Niuserre or of Menkauhor. Both men had the same titles: 'Prophet of Ra in the Sun Temple of Niuserre', and Head of the Manicurists of the Great House'. The tomb is popularly called the 'Tomb of the Two Brothers' or the 'Tomb of the Hairdressers'. The two men are frequently depicted together in the tomb, sometimes in close embrace. Therefore some people like to think they might have been gay, but depictions and references to their wifes and children, seem to throw this theory apart. They might have been brothers or just close friends.

The tomb was found under the Causeway of Unas in the 1960´s, which had to be broken in order to get to the tomb. What was found, is one of the most beautiful and special tombs in the whole area. It´s construction was changed several times during its building, the eldest part being a chapel which was hewn out of the rock. After that, three rooms and a courtyard were added. Behind the entrance is a vestibule with two pillars, where the two owners and the funeral procession is depicted. Here are also the names and titles of the owners. On the east pillar is the funerary barque with a statue of Khnumhotep and on the west, same motif depicts Niankhkhnum. Here are also other scenes with the deceaseds in fron of funerary offerings, fishing, birdhunting and papyrusgathering.

A short corridor leads from the first vestibule to two rooms, the first one of them has a door opening to a courtyard and it is only this room which is decorated. The corridor shows scenes of transporting the funerary statues, the west wall shows Niankhkhnum and the eat wall is for Khnumhotep. In the first room on the west wall are scenes with the two deceased and their respective sons. ere are also secens from daily life: cooking, baking, brewing of beer based on barley. The north wall shows the two brothers with their sons watching how a boat is being built by carpenters and on the east side of the north wall we see manicurists, barbers and pedicurists busy at work.

Next is the second chamber, whose doorway is decorated with a 'rolled up mat' door-covering carved from stone. On each side of the door are Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep with their sons facing each other. This leads to a courtyard where there are scenes of hunting in the desert. The south end of this courtyard has a door leading into a second, small vestibule and then into the rock-cut part of the tomb. In the vestibule there are scenes showing Khnumhotep with his wife, Khenut, who was a 'Prophetess of HetHert, Mistress of the Sycamore'. And on the right hand side is Niankhkhnum depicted with his wife Khentkaues, who also has the title of Prophetess of HetHert. Here is also a depiction of the two deceased together with their sons. The chapel is rectangular and leads to a room for offerings. The walls have many interesting reliefs: here we can see agricultural and handicraft scenes, including rendering accounts, filling granaries, winnowing and measuring corn and flax being harvested. Here are sculptors working on an upright statue with their tools; chisel and mallet. Metal-workers work at melt metal and are fanning a furnace, using reed blow pipes. Jewelers are seen making funerary jewellery and carpenters are making funerary furniture. Here are also more depictions of the two brothers with their families fishing and tending to cattle and an unfinished false door.

In the offering room there are yet two false doors. On the right is Khnumhoteps and on the left is the damaged one of Niankhkhnum. The damage was dune by robbers who dug a tunnel into the tomb. It was through this tunnel that archaeologists could enter. Between the false doors are scenes on the north and south walls, which depict offerings being brought to both the owners. There are also offering lists including the offering formula: "A thousand loaves, a thousand jugs of beer, a thousand joints of meat, a thousand birds, a thousand alabaster vases, a thousand rools of cloth, a thousand vases of "merhet" oil, a thousand of every good thing every day".

All throughout the rooms of the tomb, are depictions of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep either close together or with their sons and family. All depictions are double, describing events for each of the tomb owners. This is one of the most beautiful and special of the tombs in the area.

Sources:
Early Dynastic Egypt - Toby A. Wilkinson
Royal Tombs from the Pyramid Period, article in Ägypten Die Welt Der Pharaonen by Rainer Stadelmann
The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt - Richard H. Wilkinson
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt - John Baines & Jaromir Malek
Two helpful links:
Tour Egypt
Egyptsites