The Beni Hasan necropolis sits on the eastern banks of the Nile in what used to be known as Middle Egypt. Today, the site is located about 150 miles south of Cairo.

Beni Hassan has yielded images of animals hardly ever seen in Egyptian art, such as bats, pigs, and an incredibly rare image of a pelican.

Beni Hassan is an ancient Egyptian necropolis located approximately 20 kilometres to the south of Minya. It includes 39 rock-hewn tombs, some of which belong to the Old Kingdom, but the majority ...

Beni Hassan Beni Hassan as it appears today. (Image credit: Olaf Tausch, CC Attribution 3.0 Unported) The drawings recorded in the tombs include numerous depictions of creatures, particularly birds.

The researchers said they aren't sure why so many animals, especially birds, are shown in the tombs at Beni Hassan. One painting, for instance, shows no fewer than 29 birds and three bats Evans said.

Books Received Published: 21 December 1893 The Tombs at Beni Hasan Nature 49, 169–170 (1893) Cite this article ...