HUTS | Images of Deir el-Medina : Past & Present

Finnish team at the workmen's huts

A trip to Luxor in April 2011 by Heidi Kontkanen from Helsinki, Finland, produced some wonderful images of the area around the builders' huts at the top of the Theban cliffs. I am very grateful to Heidi for taking the pictures for me and allowing me to use them on this website. Her photos bring us up to date with the latest developments in the area and the results of the Finnish team's work. I have left some pictures from 2007 on the site to compare the changes that have taken place.

“From our modern perspective, it is upsetting to see how the village was first excavated and then left to be destroyed. Passers-by have used the huts as dumps and rest rooms,” says docent Jaana Toivari- Viitala, who is leading the first Finnish research project in Egypt. “Fortunately, while we still have some surface cleaning to do, documentation and conservation are off to a good start. Comparing the names found in the village and in Deir el-Medina provides useful information. Judging from the construction methods, settlement in the village can be divided into two separate periods: the initial settlement and a later one".

The team has been working at the site of the stone huts on the top of the cliffs for several consecutive three-month field seasons from 2008 to 2011. The research group, called "Workmen's huts in the Theban mountains" is a part of the project called "Man and his environment". It is funded by the Academy of Finland.

The third field season began on 9 October 2010, again under the direction of Jaana Toivari-Viitala from the University of Helsinki. The main aim of the season was to excavate the area of the huts in the eastern cluster. It consists of 64 room units. All the rooms were photographed from every possible angle. The heights of all the walls, even the partially collapsed ones, were measured. The stones from the collapsed walls were removed so that research and documentation of the rooms could be carried out. At the same time, part of the team began digging outside the eastern cluster.

There have been many discoveries both inside and outside the Eastern Cluster. So far, the team has found a total of 540 objects in all three seasons.
Finds such as string and rope, textile fragments, fragments of faience, alabaster, pottery and alabaster, ceramics and bones are not included in this count as they are classified as 'research material'. All finds are meticulously catalogued.

After some progress had been made with the individual rooms in the eastern cluster, it became clear that the map published by
Bernard Bruyere in 1939, had a number of errors. The maps now being worked on will be based on the new measurements and will reflect the actual size of each room and its exact location. The measurements have been taken digitally using a tachymeter. They are much more accurate than those taken by hand. When the project is complete, the team plans to produce up-to-date maps of the entire area of stone huts.

Individual rooms revealed interesting and detailed information about the building skills of the ancient workers.
A considerable amount of plaster remained on the walls and floors. The team even found several fragments that retained some pigment - yellow, blue, black and red. Many of the rooms had a well-preserved mastaba bench.

Several rooms had whitewashed floors. Some huts had the remains of door lintels. Finally, important new evidence came to light in the form of a number of fireplaces - both inside and outside the rooms! This evidence was also found in the North Cluster last year.

A significant find was made at the foot of the mountain, where a large fragment of a stele dedicated to the snake goddess Meretseger was discovered. A number of game pieces were found inside the huts. Excavations in the western corner of the eastern cluster revealed a huge pile of faeces where the ancient toilet used to be.

Before the end of the season, a small protective wall was built around the site and a small stone guardhouse was erected in the western corner of the area. Under the new rules, an Egyptian guard must be present at the site throughout the year.

From “Reflections on the Workmen's Huts in the Theban Mountains field project's third season” published in The Finnish Egyptological Society’s member newsletter KIRJURI, 1/2011, was kindly translated by Heidi Kontkanen from Helsinki.

http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/tyomiesmajat-theban-vuoristossa-projekti-2008-2013/

Sources:
1. KIRJURI, 2 / 2011-The Finnish Egyptological Society’s member newsletter

Further bibliography

Images of Deir el-Medina:

past & present

Finnish team at the workmen's huts

Several rooms had whitewashed floors. Some huts had the remains of door lintels. Finally, important new evidence came to light in the form of a number of fireplaces - both inside and outside the rooms! This evidence was also found in the North Cluster last year.

Before the end of the season, a small protective wall was built around the site and a small stone guardhouse was erected in the western corner of the area. Under the new rules, an Egyptian guard must be present at the site throughout the year.