Fodor's Expert Review Qilaa al-Dabba

These small mastaba tombs are significant in that their discovery provided the first evidence that Dakhla was known to the Old Kingdom. Archaeologists have uncovered seven mud-brick mastabas, including one containing the mummy of a 6th-Dynasty governor. The site is believed to have been the necropolis for an ancient settlement at Ain ‘Asil, about 1½ km (1 mi) farther east. You can enter the restored burial chamber of governor Khentika, which sits at the bottom of a huge pit and has painted reliefs dating back to around 2250 BC. The desert around the site is full of mud-brick ruins.