Hidden in the desert cliffs north of Deir Al Bahri lies yet another necropolis, Dra Abu’l Naga, with more than 100 tombs of rulers and officials. Most of these date from the 17th dynasty to the late period (c 1550–500 BC), although in the summer of 2014 a royal tomb from the 11th dynasty was found (c 2081–1938 BC). The area has been extensively plundered, but two tombs, those of Roy and Shuroy, escaped with their paintings mostly intact.
The tomb of Roy, a royal scribe and steward of Horemheb, last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, is small with scenes of funerary offerings and agriculture, and a beautifully painted ceiling. A few metres away, the T-shaped tomb of Shuroy (No 13) contains some finely executed, but in places heavily damaged, paintings of Shuroy and his wife making offerings to the gods, and a funeral procession led by a child mourner.
