The Egyptian collections of the Ashmolean Museum are one of the most extensive in England. Objects from all periods of Egyptian cluding the Bodleian Library's ostraka collection. It houses a vast collection of papyri, ostraka and other objects from Deir el-Medina. The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK The Ashmolean Museum's Egyptian collections are among the most extensive in England. Objects from all periods of Egyptian civilisation from prehistory to the 7th century AD are represented in the collection. Although some objects were part of the original collection, most come from British excavations in Egypt between the 1880s and 1930s. Oxford University's excavations in southern Egypt and the Sudan from 1910 onwards added a substantial body of Nubian material. The Department of Ancient Egypt and the Sudan holds a large collection of papyri, ostraca, tablets and wooden labels, including the Bodleian Library's ostraca collection. Following a major refurbishment, the museum opened the new Ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries on 26 November 2011. Most of the new objects from Deir el-Medina are displayed in a secluded part of the gallery. The Ashmolean Museum opened to the public in May 1683. The collection was given to the University of Oxford by Elias Ashmole (1617-1692). The collection was originally founded by John Tradescant (d. 1638), who exhibited it for a fee at his house in Lambeth. The collection ranged from natural specimens to man-made artefacts from every corner of the known world. www.ashmolean.org Photos by Lenka Peacock, 2016, unless otherwise stated © Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Naunakhte's will From Deir el-Medina New Kingdom, 20th dynasty Papyrus This legal document, written in hieratic script in black ink on a sheet of papyrus, is part of the will of a woman called Naunakhte. It records Naunakhte's distribution of her own property among her 8 children and her decision to disinherit 3 of the children who she felt had not cared for her as well as they should have in her old age. It sheds light on the position of ancient Egyptian women and their right to divide the family estate. Inv. no. AN1945.97(4) Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Naunakhte lived in Deir el-Medina and was married twice. As a very young girl (12 years or slightly older) she was married to a prominent scribe called Qenhirkhopshef (over 50), by whom she had no children. After his death, having inherited Qenhirkhopshef's and perhaps her father's valuables and real estate, she married a craftsman named Khaemnun with whom she had 8 surviving children. (Van Heel,2016,2) The will of Naunakhte is dated to year 3 in the reign of King Ramesses V (c. 1142 BC). It consists of 4 papyri, one of which is displayed in the gallery and shown above. Two of the papyri were acquired by Sir Alan Gardiner sometime after 1928 and given to the Ashmolean Museum in 1945. The other two papyri were found in situ during the 1928 IFAO excavations (P.DeM23 and 25) (Van Heel,2016,89). The document was written by two village scribes, one of whom was called Amennakht, whose name appears in the 8th line on the right-hand side of this sheet. The document records Naunakhte's oral testimony before the local court. By this time Naunakhte was very old and may not have had much longer to live. Year 3, fourth month of inundation, day 5, in the reign of the Dual King, the Lord of the Two Lands Weser-Ma'at-Re Sekheper-en-Re, l.p.h., the Son of Re, Lord of Diadems like Atum Ramesses Amen-her-khepesh-ef Mery-Amen (Ramesses V), l.p.h., given life for ever and eternity. This day, the lady Naunakhte made a record of her property before the following court: the chief workman Nakhte-em-Mut the chief workman In-Her-kHau (12 further names) She said: As for me, I am a free woman of the land of Pharaoh. I raised these eight servants of yours, and I outfitted them with everything that is usual for people of their character. Now look, I have become old, and look, they do not care for me. As for those who put their hands in my hand, to them I will give my property; (but) as for those who gave me nothing, to them I will not give of my property. List of the men and women to whom she gave: the workman Maaninakhtef the workman Qenhirkhopshef. She said: "I will give him a bronze washing-bowl as a bonus over an d above his fellows, (worth) 10 sacks of emmer." the workman Amunnakhte the lady Wasetnakhte the lady Menatnakhte. As for the lady Menatnakhte, she said regarding her, "She will share in the division of all my property, except the oipe of emmer that my three male children and the lady Wasetnakhte gave me or my hin of oil that they gave to me in the same fashion." List of her children of whom she said, "They will not share in the division of my one-third, but only in the two-thirds (share) of their father." the workman Neferhotep the lady Menatnakhte the lady Henutshenu the lady Khatanub As for these four children of mine, they will (not) share in the division of all my property. Now as for all the property of the scribe Qenhirkhopshef, my (first) husband, and also his immovable property and the storehouse of my father, and also this oipe of emmer that I collected with my husband,will not share in them. But these eight children of mine will share in the division of the property of their father on equal terms. Translation from McDowell,1999,38-40 The Sinuhe ostrakon Probably from Deir el-Medina New Kingdom, 19th dynasty (1292-1190 BC) Limestone With the exception of religious texts and various standard formulae, few other compositions are represented in so many copies or partial copies. Two papyri from the 12th and 13th dynasties provide a fairly complete text. During the Ramesside period in the 19th and 20th dynasties, master scribes and their pupils copied the text on ostraka in school. This is an example of a large ostrakon with virtually the entire narrative inscribed on both sides. (Simpson,2003,54) Inv. no. AN1945.40 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner These are both sides - recto and verso - of the largest surviving limestone ostrakon from ancient Egypt. The text is a copy of a story known as The Tale of Sinuhe, dating from the Middle Kingdom, the reign of King Senwosret (c. 1918-1875 BC). The main protagonist is a courtier named Sinuhe. He flees Egypt after the announcement of the death of King Amenemhat (c. 1938-1908 BC) and has adventures in Syria and Palestine before returning home as an old man. A major theme of the story is the superiority of Egyptian culture over all others. Although the text was composed during the Middle Kingdom, this copy was written more than 600 years later. It is written in hieratic script in black and red ink. The story was considered a literary classic by the ancient Egyptians and remained in circulation for hundreds of years. Stele of Khaemope From Biban el-Muluk 19th - 20th dynasty Limestone Triangular stele with an inscribed column in hieroglyphic script belonging to the "Servant of the Place of Truth" Khaemope. Khaemope was not an uncommon name in the Ramesside community of Deir el-Medina. It is found on stelae, on a block statue, on papyri, in a tomb painting and in tomb graffito. There were several titles associated with this name - some were simply craftsmen with the title "Servant of the Place of Truth", some were ATw officers who appear in several court cases, and there was also a contemporary "woodcutter" Khaemope. Inv. no. AN1942.47 Given by Nina de Garis Davies This stela could have belonged to one of the following Khaemopes: - The first workman Khaemope, who is mentioned in a document from the end of the 19th dynasty on the "right side" of the workmen. Benedict Davies sees the possibility of identifying him as the "Servant of the Place of Truth" Khaemope (iii) who is named on a block statue of his father, the "Servant of the Place of Truth" Pashedu. - Davies also sees the alternative that he could be synonymous with Khaemope (iv), the son of Nakhtmin (Davies,1996,292-293) The tomb TT321 has been assigned to Khaemope (v). Model of a sandal From Deir el-Medina New Kingdom Wood Black ink A model of a wooden sandal, inscribed "Servant of the Place of Truth in the west of Thebes". Inv. no. AN1952.206 Ex Griffith collection List of workmen From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Black ink Limestone ostrakon inscribed in hieratic script with a list of craftsmen who worked in the late 19th dynasty. They are arranged in two groups - left and right - according to their rank within the team. Inv. no. HO57 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Hieratic papyrus From Deir el-Medina 20th dynasty A letter from the draughtsman Hormin to his father, the draughtsman Hori. This papyrus shows how a decorative project (here, the carving and painting of a royal tomb) was usually carried out. Two teams of masons, draughtsmen and sculptors - 'the left' and 'the right' - would have worked on opposite sides of the royal tomb. Hormin came from a family of draughtsmen; the posts were often passed from father to son. Inv. no. AN1958.112 Gift of Sir Alan Gardiner "The draughtsman Hor-Min to the father, the scribe Hori [...] in life, prosperity and health, in the praise of Amen-Re, King of Gods. To the effect that: I say to Amen-Re, King of Gods, Mut, Khonsu, and the ennead of Karnak, Grant that you be healthy! Grant that you live! Give to you strength, health and happiness! Further: when my letter reaches you, you should send for the man who will go to receive the grain (for?) the donkey. Look, the god's-father of the temple of Hathor wrote me saying: 'Come to receive it.' And you should write to reason with the captains so they will promote the servant of yours, so that he will speak with the leaders, to call up that servant of yours, so that he may give me a hand with the drawing: I am alone, since my brother is ill. Those of the right side have carved a chamber more than the left-side. Now, he will consume my rations with me. Now, witness a commission of Pharaoh, l.p.h., like this one when men are doubled for it! Now when I told it [to] the High Priest, the captains said to me, 'We will bring him up (to the work site). It is not the responsibility of the High Priest.' So they said: Write [...] As for everything my mouth said, I will double it, and more." Translation from McDowell,1999,215 The draughtsman Hormin (Harmin) (i), son of Hori (ix), appears in several ostraka dating from the reign of of the successors of Ramses III. There is some evidence that he may have been active early in the reign of Ramesses IV. He definitely appears later in year 4 of Ramesses IX. Hormin probably survived until year 17 of the same reign. (Davis,1996,204). Hormin was married to Meramundua (i) with whom he had 2 daughters - Henutneteru and Isis, and a son named Hori. They are all mentioned in Inherkau's tomb TT359. It is suggested that Meramundua may have been Inherkau's daughter or more likely his cousin. (Davis,1996,28-29) Absence record From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Black ink Two fragments of a report written in hieratic script, which records the absence of two of the crew's workers due to scorpion bites. Inv. no. HO174 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Account of grain deliveries From Deir el-Medina New Kingdom Limestone Red ink Hieratic account of the rations of grain delivered to the village, brought from the temple and from the king. Inv. no. 298 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Letter to the king From Deir el-Medina New Kingdom Limestone Black ink Hieratic letter to the king reporting that work on the royal tomb was progressing according to plan. Maintaining regular communication between the workers at the tomb and the central administration was one of the duties of the village scribe. Inv. no. HO164 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Mose's letter From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Black ink Letter from the village scribe Mose to Pesiur, the vizier under King Ramesses II (c. 1279-1213 B.C.), concerning various commissions. Inv. no. HO71 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Model letter From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Black ink Official letters often followed a set formula. This model letter to a vizier probably served as a template for the village scribe's regular reports. Inv. no. HO79 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Report of a visit ostrakon From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Black ink Report of a visit by the Vizier to inspect the work of the crew. Inv. no. HO118 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Figured ostrakon From the Valley of the Kings New Kingdom Limestone Drawing of a profile of the head of a king, looking to the left. The eye is drawn frontally. The king's head is adorned by a short wig with an uraeus on the forehead. There is a collar around the neck. This is a quick but skilful sketch in black ink. Inv. no. AN1933.804 Sayce bequest Amennakht's poem ostrakon From Deir el-Medina 20th dynasty Limestone Height: 18 cm Limestone ostrakon inscribed in hieratic script by the scribe Amennakht with two poems written by him. This page contains a poem praising the city of Thebes and expressing his longing for it: "the bread there is finer than goose fat, its water is sweeter than honey..." . The red dots above the lines are "verse points", which were used to were used to mark rhythmic units in literary texts, possibly similar to line breaks in a poem. Inv. no. ANAsh.H.O.25 Gift of Sir Alan Gardiner The Satire of the Trades ostrakon From Deir el-Medina 19th - 20th dynasty Limestone Limestone ostrakon inscribed in hieratic script with part of a text known as The Satire of the Trades. A father took his son to the school of scribes and praised the profession of a scribe in comparison with more menial jobs. Inv. no. HO356 Given by Sir Alan Gardiner Stele dedicated to divine cats of Re and Atum Place of excavation: Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Black ink, traces of a preliminary sketch in red A rounded stela of painted limestone, the lower part depicting an unidentified couple worshipping "The cat of the god Re" and "The great cat, the peaceful one, in his perfect name Atum" - two aspects of the same solar deity, both shown facing each other in the upper part. Inv. no. AN1961.232 Former Armytage collection Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2006 Stele of Amenpahapy Place of excavation: Deir el-Medina 20th dynasty Limestone This stela was dedicated by the Servant in the Place of Truth Amenpahapy. The six snakes represent the cobra goddess Meretseger. The stela may have been placed in a rock-cut shrine along the path from Deir el-Medina to the Valley of the Kings. Inv. no. AN1945.15 Gift of Nina de Garis Davies Photo by Jana Tejkalová 2008 Driving a bull to pasture Place of excavation: Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty A figured ostrakon of a shepherd in a pleated linen kilt walks behind a "neg" - bull. In his left hand he holds a short crook and the end of a double tether, probably attached to the bull's nose ring. In his raised hand he may be holding another crook. Above the bull's back is an inscription in hieratic script. Above are a pair of mating goats and two kids. Inv. no. AN1938.915 Former Nina de Garis Davies collection Bibl. J. Vander d'Abbadie, loc. cit. pt. 3, pp. 22-27, pls. IX-XIII. Dispute over a hut Place of excavation: Deir el-Medina Mid 20th dynasty, Ramesses III Limestone Fragment of a limestone ostrakon with a hieratic inscription describing the settlement of a dispute over a hut inherited by a craftsman named Wennofer. The author of the text, Wennofer, claims ownership of his father's hut, which at the time was occupied by another craftsman who also claimed ownership. Both men went to the chief workman, Khonsu, and his deputy to settle their dispute. It was decided that Wennofer had the right to the hut, but that he should compensate the other party for any improvements made while he lived there. The following is a list of items that were made in payment. The inscription is not written in ink. It is unusual in that it is cut into the limestone and filled with blue frit, a technique used for formal hieroglyphic inscriptions. Perhaps Wennofer set this ostrakon like a stele into a wall of the disputed hut to publicise his claim to the building. Inv. no. ANAsh.H.O.655 Gift of Sir Alan Gardiner Photo by Jana Tejkalová 2008 [Reporting by] the workman Wen-nefer (and) the work[man...saying] there be given to me the hut (of) my father [...] in the presence of: the chief workman Khonsu the deputy [...] [...] And they said to me, "Give him grain [...for the construction] that he made in it." List of the silver [given to him...] box: 2 deben, 3 oipe of it belonging to me [...from his?] wood And I made for him a staff [...from?] his wood and [...] hen-box, X deben [...] (Translation from McDowell,1999,180) Photo by Philippa Robins 2010 Hieratic ostrakon Place of excavation: Deir el-Medina 20th dynasty Limestone The ostrakon is inscribed with hieratic signs, numbers and unusual marks. The signs probably represent personal names, and the numbers record the quantity of items (probably pots) made by them or delivered to them. Inv. no. ANAsh.H.O.1093 Gift of Sir Alan Gardiner Photo by Jana Tejkalová 2008 "Identity marks and their relation to writing in New Kingdom Egypt" is a PhD research programme, planned for May 2011 - August 2015, at University of Leiden under leadership of Dr. Ben Haring. The objectives of the research are to explain the shapes and nature of the marks themselves, and their affinity with writing and to assess precisely how the marks were used in the workmen’s community – in addition to writing. http://hum.leiden.edu/lias/research/smes/id-marks.html The international conference "Pot marks and other non-textual marking systems from prehistory to present times" was held in Berlin on December 7-9, 2012. The main focus of the event, organized by the Department of Egyptology and Northeast African Archaeology of Humboldt University Berlin within the framework of a research linkage between Humboldt University and Warsaw University, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, was on pot marks in Ancient Egypt, but other marking systems from Egypt and elsewhere were discussed as well. List of receipts for various commodities Place of excavation: Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty, about 1213-1204 BC Fragment of a papyrus inscribed in hieratic script with accounts of the crew of workers and various individuals. It lists supplies of food, tools, timber and and metalwork carried out for them. Most of the entries begin with a date in the season of peret (winter). Inv. no. AN1960.1283 Gift of Sir Alan Gardiner Photo by Jana Tejkalová 2008 Figured ostrakon Place of excavation: Thebes The head of a bubalis (Antelope bubalus) Inv. no. AN1938.913 Bought in Thebes Ex Nina de G. Davies collection Presented in memory of Kate Griffith Photograph by Su Bayfield This page was compiled by Lenka Peacock from the sources listed below. I would like to thank Dr Liam McNamara, Assistant Keeper for Ancient Egypt and Sudan, and Amy Taylor, Senior Picture Library and Publications Assistant, both of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford, for their kind comments and assistance in updating the site. All photographs are reproduced by kind permission of the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. The photographs were taken by Lenka Peacock, Jana Tejkalová, Philippa Robins and Su Bayfield. Sources: 1. www.ashmolean.org 2. Museum's own labels 3. McDowell, A.G.: Village life in ancient Egypt : laundry lists and love songs Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999. 4. J. Vander d'Abbadie, loc. cit. pt. 3, pp. 22-27, pls. IX-XIII. 5. Parkinson, Richard: Cracking codes : the Rosetta Stone and decipherement London : British Museum Press, 1999. 6. Van Heel, Koenraad Donker : Mrs. Naunakhte & Family: The Women of Ramesside Deir al-Medina Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 2016 7. Davis, Benedict G.: Genealogies and personality characteristics of the workmen in the Deir el-Medina community during the Ramesside period. Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Liverpool : University of Liverpool, February 1996. 8. Simpson, William Kelly: The literature of ancient Egypt : an anthology of stories, instructions, stelae, autobiographies, and poetry New Haven : Yale University, 2003. Further bibliography Back to top

The temple of Amenhotep I at Deir el-Medina stands on the terrace above the Ptolemaic temple enclosure. This temple was dedicated to Amenhotep I (1551-1524 BC) and his mother Ahmose Nefertari, who were both deified by the villagers. The original structure was a small one and little remains of it. The temple of Amenhotep I The temple stands on the terrace above the Ptolemaic enclosure. This temple was dedicated to Amenhotep I (1514-1493 BC) and his mother Ahmose Nefertari, both of whom were deified by the villagers. The original structure was small and little remains of it. Many of the walls surrounding the site are later additions. The temple consisted of an outer and inner hall, a pronaos and a shrine. Two steps led to the pronaos, which was decorated with a wall of red, white and black horizontal bands. Nothing remains of the royal couple to whom the temple was dedicated, depicted on a throne. Numerous statues by Drovetti, Schiaparelli, Bruyère and Baraize have been found on the site. Photography © 2009 Andre du Toit, S. Africa Photography © 2007 Lenka Peacock The cult of Amenhotep I From the 18th dynasty onwards, the main focus of religious worship in Deir el-Medina was the cult of Amenhotep I, especially in the form of the "Lord of the Village", together with his mother Ahmose-Nefertari. Jaroslav Černý pointed out that there were several forms of this cult in Deir el-Medina, corresponding to the statues, each of which had a particular name and was housed in the various sanctuaries established there (Černý,1927,182). Amenhotep I Djeserkare (1514-1493 BC) was the second pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. He was probably very young when he ascended the throne, so it is likely that his mother, Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, acted as regent for the first part of his reign. They are jointly credited with the founding of Deir el-Medina, where they enjoyed personal religious cults until the late Ramesside period. Apart from the modest temple that was primarily dedicated to the couple, they were also secondary worshippers in the chapels of other gods. The deified king had many festivals throughout the year, during which his statue was carried in procession by the Wab priests. These activities were acts of devotion to the deified mother and son and were consistently and exclusively performed by the workers of the village (Ventura 1986, p. 63). The feasts were fairly regular events and were usually part of religious festivals associated with the cult. One festival involved the carrying of the statue of Amenhotep I into the Valley of the Kings, another may have been associated with the anniversary of his death. The deified king was invoked to settle disputes, especially those concerning property. In these oracles the image of the god, Amenhotep I, answered positively or negatively to the questions put to him. Since the priests of this particular cult were drawn from the ranks of the workers themselves, the answer would be a kind of consensus among the priests who carried the divine image. The god's oracular pronouncements, however they were made, carried great weight, and his processions were a high point in the life of Deir el-Medina. The textual and representational evidence associated with her cult at Deir el-Medina can be seen in cult statues, votive stelae, libation basins, paintings and inscriptions in tombs and on ostraka. More than fifty of the Theban tombs of private individuals contain inscriptions mentioning the name of Ahmose Nefertari. Below are examples of depictions of the deified couple. All are from Deir el-Medina and are now part of the museum collections. Petrie Museum, UCL UC33258 Queen Ahmose-Nefertari Possibly from Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty, 1295-1186 BC Limestone Black ink with traces of a preliminary sketch in red. Bust of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, looking to the left. She wears a long tripartite wig and the vulture headdress. The dating of the ostrakon takes into account the fact that Queen Ahmose-Nefertari was depicted with the "vulture" headdress after her deification in the Ramesside period. Height: 11.8 cm Width: 13.5 cm Photography © Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL Photo by Lenka Peacock Petrie Museum, UCL UC14379 Limestone fragment Possibly from Deir el-Medina Ramesside Period (1295-1069 BC) Limestone Height: 20.5 cm Width: 14.5 cm Fragment from a tomb. In the lower left part of the fragment there is the upper part of a royal head and face with a uraeus on the forehead. Above the head there is a cartouche of Ahmose-Nefertari, the queen of Ahmose I (1570-1546 BC), the mother of Amenhotep I. Photography © Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL Photo by Lenka Peacock Petrie Museum, UCL UC14223 Stela of Kaha Probably from Deir el-Medina 20th dynasty (1186-1069 BC) Limestone Height: 20 cm Width: 12.7 cm This is the right part of a framed stela of Kaha. It shows the deified Amenhotep I standing to the left, holding a spear in his left hand. The two cartouches beside identify him as Amenhotep Djeserkare. To his right is a priest standing in worshipful position. The name of the priest is written in a hieroglyphic inscription above his head. Photography © Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL Photo by Lenka Peacock Egyptian Museum, Turin Statue of the deified Amenhotep I From Deir el-Medina 19th-20th dynasty Painted limestone On stylistic grounds the statue can be dated to the 19th or 20th dynasty, but it may be a copy of an older statue from the time of Amenhotep I himself. It was probably carried in processions during religious ceremonies. The seated pharaoh wears a nemes headdress, decorated with parallel blue and yellow stripes. He has a false beard attached to his chin (Museo Egizio,2019,132). 65 x 27 x 40 cm Drovetti collection (1824) Cat. 1372 Museo Egizio Information and photos Photography © Museo Egizio, Turin. Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2019 Egyptian Museum, Turin Stela of Amenemope From Deir el-Medina Beginning of the 19th dynasty, reign of Seti I and Rameses II Limestone The stela is dedicated to Amenhotep I and Ahmose-Nefertari by the 'Servant in the Place of Truth' Amenemope and Amennakht. Height: 30 cm Width: 20 cm Drovetti collection (1824) Cat. 1452/bis Museo Egizio Information & photo Photography © Museo Egizio, Turin. Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2019 Egyptian Museum, Turin Stela of Parahotep dedicated to Amun-Re of Ipet, Meretseger and Amenhotep I From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Painted limestone Round-topped Meretseger was the goddess of the pyramidal peak overlooking the Theban necropolis. Her common name was "she who loves silence". She was worshipped mainly by the workmen of Deir el-Medina. Drovetti collection (1824) Cat. 1451/bis Museo Egizio Information and photos Photography © Museo Egizio, Turin. Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2019 Egyptian Museum, Turin Stela depicting Seti I and a vizier adoring Amenhotep I and Ahmose Nefertari From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty, reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC) Limestone with traces of paint Round-topped Upper part of a stela depicting Seti I on the right, followed by a Governor of the Town, Vizier (his name is lost), censing before Amenhotep I and Ahmose-Nefertari. Schiaparelli excavations, 1905 Cat. 1466 Museo Egizio Information and photos Photography © Museo Egizio, Turin. Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2019 Although the next two images are not from Deir el-Medina, they are very closely related to the inhabitants of the workers' village. They depict the deified royal couple. Both fragments come from the Theban tomb of Kynebu, a priest "over the secrets of the estate of Amun". He served during the reign of Ramesses VIII towards the end of the New Kingdom (c. 1130 BC). Neues Museum, Berlin, Inv.-No. ÄM 2061 Representation of the deified Pharaoh Amenhotep I New Kingdom, 20th dynasty, 1152-1145 BC. From Thebes, Inherkau's tomb TT 359 at Deir el-Medina Painted plaster Amenhotep I is shown wearing a blue cap-wig with an uraeus on the front. He is crowned with a sun disc. In his right hand Amenhotep holds a crook and a flail, symbols of royal power. In his left hand he holds an ankh, symbol of life. The king is depicted wearing the classic Shendjyt -kilt and a longer sheer linen robe. Photography © Neues Museum, Berlin Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2011 Neues Museum, Berlin, Inv.-No. ÄM 2060 Representation of the deified queen Ahmose-Nefertari New Kingdom, 20th dynasty, 1152-1145 BC From Thebes, Inherkau's tomb TT 359 at Deir el-Medina Painted plaster Ahmose-Nefertari wears a flowing, pleated dress, more typical of elite women of the Ramesside period (c. 1295-1069 BC) than of the period in which the queen lived. On her head she wears the vulture headdress of the goddess Mut, consort of the god Amun of Thebes, surmounted by a solar disc and ostrich feathers. The cobra on her crown and the flail in her hand indicate her royal status. The lotus flower was often held by deceased women as a symbol of rebirth. The black colour of Ahmose Nefertari's skin does not reflect her true colouring, but may symbolise regeneration. Photography © Neues Museum, Berlin Photo by Lenka Peacock, 2011 Sources: 1. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete temples of Ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson, 2000. 2. Bomann, Ann H.: The private chapel in ancient Egypt : a study of the chapels in the workmen's village at el Amarna with special reference to Deir el-Medina and other sites. London : Kegan Paul International, 1991. 3. Strudwick, Nigel and Helen: Thebes in Egypt : a guide to the tombs and temples of ancient Luxor London : British Museum Press, 1999. 4. McDowell, A.G.: Village life in ancient Egypt : laundry lists and love songs Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999. 5. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el-Medina / edited by Leonard H. Lesko Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1994. 6. Ventura, Raphael: Living in a city of the dead : a selection of topographical and administrative terms in the documents of the Theban necropolis Freiburg (Schweiz) : Universitatsverlag, 1986. 7. Černý, Jaroslav: Le culte d’Amenophis 1er chez les ouvriers de la nécropole thébaine, BIFAO 27 (1927). 8. Museo Egizio, English Turin : Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino, 2019. 9. Wilkinson, Toby: The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 2008. Further bibligraphy Back to top

Deir el-Medina bibliography Bibliography Les artistes de Pharaon : Deir el-Médineh et la Vallée des Rois : Paris, musée du Louvre, 15 avril - 5 aout 2002 Paris : Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2002. Aubert, Jacques F.: Statuettes egyptiennes Paris : Libraire dAmerique et d'Orient Adrien maisonneuve, 1974. Austin, Anne: Accounting for sick days: a scalar approach to health and disease at Deir el-Medina IN: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 74, No. 1 (April 2015), pp. 75-85. Baines, John and Jaromír Málek: Atlas of Ancient Egypt Oxford : Andromeda, 1996. Berriedale-Johnson, Michelle: Food fit for Pharaohs : an ancient Egyptian cookbook London : British Museum Press, 1999. Betts, Hannah: The eyes have it In : The Sunday Times Magazine, 17th November 2007, p. 59-62. Bienkowski, Piotr : Gifts of the Nile : Ancient Egyptian arts and crafts in Liverpool Museum London : HMSO, 1995. Bierbrier, Morris L.: Terms of relationship at Deir el-Medina IN : The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 66, 1980. pp. 100-107. Bierbrier, Morris L. : The tomb-builders of the pharaohs Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 1982. Bomann, Ann H.: The private chapel in ancient Egypt : a study of the chapels in the workmen's village at el Amarna with special reference to Deir el-Medina and other sites. London : Kegan Paul International, 1991. Booth, Charlotte: People of Ancient Egypt Stroud : Tempus, 2006. Bourguet, Pierre du: Le temple de Deir al-MedinaCaire : Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, 2002. Brewer, Douglas J. - Friedman, Renee F.: Fish and fishing in ancient Egypt Warminster : Aris & Phillips, 1989. The British Museum hieroglyphic texts from Egyptian stelae etc. Pt. 12 / edited by M. L. Bierbrier. London : British Museum Press, 1993. Brooker, M. L.: A new approach of identifying the function of the elevated beds at Deir el-Medina. A thesis: The University of Birmingham, Master of Philosophy. Birmingham : University of Birmingham, June 2009. 196 p. Brunner, Emma: Egyptian artists' sketches : figured ostraka from the Gayer-Anderson collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Leiden : Netherlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut le Istanbul, 1979. Bruyère, Bernard: Rapport sur les Fouilles de Deir el Medineh (1928) Le Caire : Imprimerie de l'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, 1929. Bruyère, Bernard: Tombes Thebaines. La Necropole de Deir el-Medineh. Tom 1. Cairo : 1926. Buckley, Stephen and Raffaella Bianucci, Michael E. Habicht, Joann Fletcher, Roger Seiler, Lena M. Öhrström, Eleni Vassilika, Thomas Böni, Frank J. Rühl. "Shedding New Light on the 18th Dynasty Mummies of the Royal Architect Kha and His Spouse Merit", in PLOS-One, July 22, 2015 Burzacott, Jeff: The Tomb of Sennedjem discovered IN : Nile Magazine, no. 11, December 2017 - January 2018, pp. 17-21. The Cairo Museum masterpieces of Egyptian art / edited by Francesco Tiradritti London : Thames & Hudson, 1998. Calverley, A.: The temple of King Sethos I at Abydos, vol. IV. Chicago, 1958, pl. 18 Černý, Jaroslav: Le culte d’Amenophis 1er chez les ouvriers de la nécropole thébaine, BIFAO 27 (1927). Čern‎ý, Jaroslav: Egyptian Stelae in the Bankes Collection. Oxford, 1958 Černý, Jaroslav: Egypt from the death of Ramesses III to the end of the 21st dynasty. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1965. Černý, Jaroslav: A community of workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period Cairo : Institut Francais d'archeologie Orientale du Caire, 1973. Clayton, Peter A.: Chronicles of the Pharaohs : the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 1994. Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill: How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs : a step-by-step guide to teach yourself Criscenzo-Laycock, G.: A New Ramesside Stela from Deir el-Medina, IN: Ramesside Studies in Honour of K. A. Kitchen / edited by M. Collier and S. Snape, Bolton, 2011, pp. 123-126. Curto, Silvio : L'antico Egitto nel Museo Egizio di Torino Torino : Tipografia Torinese Editrice , 1984. David, A. Rosalie: The pyramid builders of ancient Egypt : a modern investigation of Pharaoh's workforce. London : Routledge, 1986. Davis, Benedict G.: Genealogies and personality characteristics of the workmen in the Deir el-Medina community during the Ramesside period. Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Liverpool : University of Liverpool, February 1996. Davies, Benedict G.: Who's who at Deir el-Medina : a prosopographic study of the royal workmen's community Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Her Nabije Oosten, 1999 Davies, Benedict G.: Life Within the Five Walls. A Handbook to Deir el-Medina Wallasey : Abercromby Press, 2018. Deir el-Medina in the third millenniuim AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R. J. Demarée and A. Egberts Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000. Demarée, Robert J.: A house is not a home - what exactly is a hut? IN: Living and writing in Deir el- Medine: socio-historical embodiment of Deir el-Medina texts / Andreas Dorn, Tobias Hofman (eds). Basel : Schwabe Verlag, 2006. Demarée, R.J. : The Bankes Late Ramesside Papyri London : British Museum, 2006. BM Research Publication 155. Description de l'Egypte / Publiee par les ordres de Napoleon Bonaparte. Edition complete. Koln : Taschen, 2002. Dodson, Aidan - Ikram, Salima: The tomb in ancient Egypt : royal and private sepulchres from the early dynastic period to the Romans London : Thames & Hudson, 2008. Edwards, I.E.S. : The Bankes papyri I. and II. IN: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 68, 1982. pp. 126-133 Eyre, C.J.: A "Strike" Text from the Theban Necropolis IN: Orbis Aegyptiorum Speculum. Glimpses of Ancient Egypt : Studies in Honour of H. W. Fairman Warminster : Aris & Phillips, 1979. 201 p. Eyre, Christopher: The use of documents in Pharaonic Egypt. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013. Farid, Hany and Farid, Samir: Unfolding Sennedjem's tomb In: KMT: A modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, Spring 2001. Pp. 1-8. Faulkner, R. O.: The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead London : British Museum Press, 2000. Friedman, Florence: Meaning of some anthropoid busts from Deir el-Medina IN : The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 71 (1985), pp. 82-97. Galan, Jose M.: Seeing darkness. IN : Chronique d'Egypte, Vol. 74, Number 174/1999. p. 18-30. Gamer-Wallert, Ingrid: Fische und Fischkulte Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1970. Gardiner, Alan: Egyptian grammar : being an introduction to the study of hieroglyphs Oxford : Griffith Institute, 1957. Germond, Philippe and Livet, Jacques: An Egyptian bestiary : animals in life and religion in the land of the Pharaohs. London : Thames and Hudson, 2001. Gleanings from Deir el-Medina / editors, R. J. Demarée and Jac. J. Janssen. Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten te Leiden, 1982. Goedicke, Hans: Review of Brunner-Traut's Egyptian artists' sketches : figured ostraka from the Gayer-Anderson collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. IN : Journal of Near East Studies, vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 233-235. Goyon, Jean Claude and Cardin, Christine: Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Egyptologists, Vol. 1 Peeters Publishers, 2007. 2031 p. Grace, Molly: Who Wants to Live Forever? : Parallel versions of Prolonged Existence and Collective Identity : BA Classics dissertation Reading : University of Reading, 2021. Hawass, Zahi: The lost tombs of Thebes : Life in paradise. London : Thames and Hudson, 2009. Haring, Ben: Tombs, papyri and ostraca : historical developments in the royal necropolis administration of the New Kingdom Lecture delivered at the Egypt Exploration Society London study day: The Men of the gang : the village of Deir el-Medina and its inhabitants, 25th October 2008. Hobson, Christine: Exploring the world of the pharaohs London : Thames and Hudson, 1990. Houlihan, Patrick F. and Goodman, Steven M.: The birds of ancient Egypt (Natural history of ancient Egypt) Warminster : Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1986. Houlihan, Patrick F.: The animal world of the pharaohs London : Thames and Hudson, 1996. Houlihan, Patrick F.: Wit & humour in ancient Egypt London : The Rubicon Press, 2001. James, T.G.H. ‘Egyptian Antiquities at Kingston Lacy, Dorset (The Collection of William John Bankes)’. In : KMT 4(4), winter 1993-94, 20-32. James, T.G.H.: Pharaoh's people : scenes from life in Imperial Egypt New York : Tauris Parke, 2003. Janssen, J. J. and Pestman, P. W.: Burial and inheritance in the community of the necropolis workmen at Thebes. IN: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 1968, no. 11, p. 137-170. Janssen, Jac. J.: Commodity prices from the Ramesside period : an economic study of the village of necropolis workmen at Thebes Leiden : Brill, 1975. Janssen, Jac., J.: Donkeys at Deir el-Medina Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 2005. Janssen, Jac. J.: Daily dress at Deir el-Medina : words for clothing London : Golden House Publications, 2008. Janssen, Jac. J.: Late Ramesside letters and communications London : British Museum Press, 1991. (Hieratic papyri in the British Museum VI, 1991). Janssen, Jac. J.: Village Varia : Ten studies on the history and administration of Deir el-Medina Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor het nabije Oosten, 1997. p. 163-164. Janssen, Rosalind and Janssen, Jac. J.: Egyptian household animals Aylesbury : Shire Publications, 1989. Janssen, Rosalind and Janssen, Jac. J.: Growing up and getting old in ancient Egypt London : Golden House Publications, 2007. Janssen, Rosalind: Growing old disgracefully at Deir el-Medina In Ancient Egypt, December 2004/January 2005, pp. 39-44. Janssen, Rosalind: The old women of Deir el-Medina: Paper delivered at the Institute, 8 December 2006. In Buried history: The journal of the Australian Institute of Archaeology, 2006, Vol. 42, p. 3-10. Janssen, Jac. J. and Janssen, Rosalind M.: Jaroslav Černý and his work at Deir el-Medina. IN: A good scribe and an exceedingly wise man : Studies in honour of W.J.Tait / edited by A.M. Dodson, J.J. Johnston, W. Monkhouse London : Golden House Publications, Egyptology 21, 2014. Jauhiainen, Heidi: "Do not celebrate your feast without your neighbours" : a study of references to feasts and festivals in non-literary documents from Ramesside Period Deir el-Medina. Academic dissertation Helsinki : University of Helsinki, 2009. 416 p. Journey through the Afterlife : Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead / edited by John H. Taylor London : The British Museum Press, 2010. 320 p. Keith, Jean Lewis: Anthropoid Busts of Deir el Medineh and Other Sites and Collections : Analyses, Catalogue, Appendices / with contributions by Sylvie Donnat, Anna K. Stevens, Nicola Harrington Le Caire : Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 2011 Keller, C.A.: Royal painters : Deir el-Medina in dynasty XIX. IN : Fragments of shattered visage : the proceedings of the International Symposium of Ramesses the Great / edited by Edward Bleiberg and Rita Freed. Memphis : Memphis State University, 1991. KIRJURI, 1 / 2011-The Finnish Egyptological Society’s member newsletter KIRJURI, 1 / 2012-The Finnish Egyptological Society’s member newsletter Kitchen, K. A.: Ramesside inscriptions : translated and annotated notes and comments Vol. I. Oxford : Blackwell, 1993. Kitchen, K. A.: Ramesside inscriptions : translated and annotated notes and comments Vol. III. Oxford : Blackwell, 2001. Lexa, Fr.: Náboženská literatura staroegyptská. Dil I a II Kladno : Nákladem J. Snajdra, 1920. Lichtheim, M.: Ancient Egyptian literature. Vol. II: The New Kingdom Berkeley : University of California Press, 1976. Málek, Jaromír: Life and achievements of Czech Egyptologist Jaroslav Černý (1898-1970). IN: Archív Orientální 66, 1998, p. 27-30. Málek, Jaromír: Egypt : 4000 years of art London : Phaidon Press, 2003. Mandeville, Richard: The water-carriers of Deir el-Medina Study written for his M.A. thesis at the Liverpool University, the text supplied through private e-mail correspondence Matiegková, L.: Vyšetřování egyptských mumií IN : Anthropologie čís. 1-2, p. 237-253. Rozhledy-Review-Revue Praha : Anthropologický Ustav UK, 1929. Matiegková, L., Matiegka, J.: Hrob Sen Nefera a tělesné znaky staroegyptského lidu za doby XVIII dynastie (Le tombe de Sen Nefer et les caractères physiques des anciens Egyptiens au temps de la XVIIIe dynastie) Offprint : Anthropologie IX, cis. 1. pp. 320-335. Praha : Grafické závody V. & A. Janata v Novém Bydžově, 1931. McDowell, A.G.: Village life in ancient Egypt : laundry lists and love songs Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999. Meskell, Lynn: Intimate archaeologies : the case of Kha and Merit. IN: World Archaeology, Vol. 29, No. 3, Intimate relationships (Feb. 1998), p. 363-379. Meskell, Lynn: Spatial analyses of the Deir el-Medina settlement and necropoleis IN: Deir el-Medina in the Third Millennium AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R.J. Demarée and A. Egberts Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000. Meskell, Lynn: Private life in New Kingdom Egypt Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2002. Montserrat, Dominic and Meskell, Lynn: Mortuary archaeology and religious landscape at Graeco-Roman Deir el-Medina. IN: JEA 83, p. 179-197. Murmane, William J.: The bark of Amun on the third pylon at Karnak. IN : Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 16,(1979), pp.11-27. Museo Egizio, English Turin : Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino, 2019. Navrátilová, Hana : Sennefer IN : Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. p. 128-131. Newberry-Peet: Handbook and Guide to the Egyptian Collection on Exhibition in the Public Museums, Liverpool, 1932 Nicholson, C.: Aegyptiaca. Comprising a Catalogue of the Egyptian Antiquities Collected in the years 1856, 1857, and now deposited in the Museum of the University of Sydney. London : Harrison and Sons, 1891. 150 p. Nunn, John F.: Ancient Egyptian medicine London : British Museum Press, 1996. Oakey, Michael: Liverpool World Museum’s Ancient Egypt Gallery reopens after major expansion IN: KMT a Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, Vol. 28, Nu. 4, Winter 2017-18, pp. 43-57 Onderka, P.: Egyptské mumie v českých sbírkách IN: Ve stínu pyramidy : příběhy moravskotřebovské mumie, Onderka, Pavel - Jana Martínková (eds.) Praha : Národní muzeum, 2012 Objevování země na Nilu = Discovering the Land on the Nile / Pavel Onderka & Petra Maříková Praha : Národní Museum, 2008. Page, Anthea: Ancient Egyptian figured ostraca : in the Petrie collection Warminster : Aris & Phillips, 1983. Parkinson, Richard: Voices from Ancient Egypt London : British Museum Press, 1991. Parkinson, Richard: Cracking codes : the Rosetta Stone and decipherement London : British Museum Press, 1999. Peck, W. H. : Review of Ancient Egyptian figured ostraca in the Petrie Collection by Anthea Page IN: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 71, Reviews Supplement (1985), pp. 14-16 Peden, A.J.: The workmen of Deir el-Medina and the decline of textual graffiti at West Thebes in late dynasty XX and early dynasty XXI IN: Deir el-Medina in the Third Millennium AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R.J. Demarée and A. EgbertsLeiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000. Peden, A.J.: The graffiti of pharaonic Egypt : scope and roles of informal writings (c. 3100-332 B.C.) Leiden : Brill, 2001. Perry, Charles,1698-1780 : A view of the Levant, particularly of Constantinople, Syria, Egypt, and Greece : In which their antiquities, government, politics, maxims, manners, and customs (with many other circumstances and contingencies) are attempted to be described and treated on : in four parts London : Printed for T. Woodward, between the Temple Gates in Fleet-Street, and C. Davis, near Middle-Row, in Holborn, printers to the Royal Society; and J. Shuckburgh, at the Sun, near the Temple Gate, in Fleet Street, 1743. The Pharaohs / edited by Christiane Ziegler New York : Rizzoli, 2002. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el-Medina / edited by Leonard H. Lesko Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1994. Pococke, Richard, 1704-1765 : A description of the East : and some other countries. London : Printed for the author, 1743-1745. Porter, B. - Moss, R.L.B., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings Oxford, 1960- Ray, John: Inscriptions and Ostraca in the Nicholson Museum IN: Egyptian art in the Nicholson Museum, Sydney. p. 215-216. Reeve, E.: Catalogue of the Museum of Antiquities of the Sydney University Sydney : Cunninghame, 1870. Reeves, Nicholas: The complete Valley of the Kings : tombs and treasure of Egypt's greatest pharaohs. London : Thames and Hudson, 1996. Reeves, Nicholas: Ancient Egypt : the great discoveries : a year-by-year chronicle London : Thames & Hudson, 2000. Rice, Michael: Who is who in Ancient Egypt London : Routledge, 2002. Robins, Gay.: Women in Ancient Egypt. London : British Museum Press, 1993 Roccati, Alessandro : The Egyptian Museum Turin Istituto polygraphico e zecca dello stato Liberia della stato Roccati, Alessandro : Museo Egizio, Torino Roma : Istituto poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato, 2003. Roehrig, Catharine H.: Explorers and artists in the Valley of the Kings Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 2001. Romer, John: Ancient lives : the story of the Pharaoh's tombmakers London : Phoenix, 1984. Russo, Barbara: Kha (TT 8) and his colleagues : the gifts in his funerary equipment and related artefacts from Western Thebes London : Golden House Publications, 2012. Růžová, Jiřina: Písař Místa pravdy : Život egyptologa Jaroslava Černého Praha : Libri, 2010. Shaw, Ian, Nicholson, Paul: British Museum dictionary of ancient Egypt London: British Museum Press, 1995. Simpson, William Kelly: The literature of ancient Egypt : an anthology of stories, instructions, stelae, autobiographies, and poetry New Haven : Yale University, 2003. Sowada, Karin N.: Sir Charles Nicholson : an Early scholar-traveller in Egypt IN: Egyptian art in the Nicholson Museum, Sydney. p. [1]-8. Strouhal, E., Vyhnálek, L.: Egyptian mummies in Czechoslovak collections Národní Museum v Praze, 1980. Strouhal, Evzen: Life of the ancient Egyptians Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 1997. Strudwick, Nigel: The British Museum masterpieces of ancient Egypt. London : The British Museum Press, 2006. Strudwick, Nigel and Helen: Thebes in Egypt : a guide to the tombs and temples of ancient Luxor London : British Museum Press, 1999. Suková, Lenka: Funerary cones in the Czech republic. In: Annals of the Náprstek Museum 25, Prague 2004 Sweeney, Deborah: Women growing older in Deir el-Medina IN : AH 19, 2006, pp. 135-153. Sweeney, Deborah: The akh iqer Stela University College London 14228 Reconsidered - a Sign of Gratitude? IN : Text-Bild-Objekte im archäologischen Kontext : Feschrift für Susanne Bickel. Hamburg : Widmaier Verlag, 2020. pp. 257-275. Sweeney, Deborah: Builders Behaving Badly : The Rise and Fall of the Chief Workman Paneb (i) at Deir el-Medina IN : The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 2023. Vol. 109(1-2) pp. 117-129. Škvařilová, B.: Hrdličkovo muzeum človeka Univerzity Karlovy Praha : Hrdličkovo muzeum, 2010. Taylor, John H.: Death and afterlife in ancient Egypt London : British Museum Press, 2001. Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. Tomsová, Julie: Dvojí život Sennefera z Dér el-Medíny : Bachelor degree thesis Praha : Univerzita Karlova v Praze , Filozofická fakulta, Český egyptologický ústav, 2014. Tomsová, Julie, Schierová, Zuzana: Skeletal material from Deir el-Medina in the Hrdlička Museum of Man in Prague IN : Annals of the Náprstek Musem 37/1, 2016, pp. 41-69 Tosi, Mario : La cappella di Maia : un pittore a Deir el-Medina Torino : Artema, 1994. 82 p. The Treasures of the Valley of the Kings : tombs and temples of the Theban west bank in Luxor Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 2001. Trope, Betsy Teasley: Excavating Egypt : Great discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London Atlanta : Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, 2005. Tutankhamun - The Golden Beyond : Tomb Treasures from the Valley of the Kings / edited by André Wiese and Andreas Brodbeck Basel : Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, 2004. Tvůrci hrobů egyptských králů : Jaroslav Černý a Dér el-Medina Praha : Náprstkovo museum, 1992. Valbelle, Dominique : Ouchebtis de Deir el-Médineh Le Caire : I. F. A. O , 1972. Van Heel, Koenraad Donker : Mrs. Naunakhte & Family: The Women of Ramesside Deir al-Medina Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 2016 Vandier, Jacques : Tombes de Deir el-Médineh : la tombe de Nefer-Abou Le Caire : Impr. de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, 1935. Vassilika, Eleni: The tomb of Kha : the architect Torino : Fondazione Museo delle Antichita Egizie, 2010. Veldmeijer, André J.: Footwear in Ancient Egypt: the Medelhavsmuseet collection Varldskulturmuseerna Stockholm : National Museums of World Culture, 2014 Ventura, Raphael: Living in a city of the dead : a selection of topographical and administrative terms in the documents of the Theban necropolis Freiburg (Schweiz) : Universitatsverlag, 1986. Weeks, Kent R.: The treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings Cercelli : White Star Publishers, 2005 Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson, 2003. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete temples of Ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson, 2000. 9. Wilkinson, Toby: The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 2008. Země pyramid a faraonů : starověký Egypt ve sbírkách Náprstkova muzea = The land of pyramids and pharaohs : Ancient Egypt in the Náprstek museum collection Praha : Národní Muzeum, 1997. The Ashmolean Museum gallery labels The British Museum gallery labels The Fitzwilliam museum gallery labels The Petrie Museum gallery labels CD Egyptian Treasures in Europe - 1000 Highlights Multilingual Version v 1.0. 1999 ed. The Ashmolean Museum's web site at www.ashmolean.org The British Museum's web site at www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk The Fitzwilliam Museum's web site at www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk The Nicholson Museum's web site at http://sydney.edu.au/museums/collections/nicholson_egypt.shtml The Turin Museum's web site at http://www.museoegizio.it/en/ The Petrie Museum's web site at www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/sanctuary-of-ptah-and-meretseger/ Waseda University Institute of Egyptology web site at http://www.waseda.jp/prj-egypt/sites/DeM/DeM-E. html http://www.pbase.com/galleria_rusticana/aegyptica http://www.helsinki.fi/news/archive/1-2009/28-13-42-13.html http://www.osirisnet.net/ http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/ http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/English/engframe.htm http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/archives/lantern_slide_collection/copy/history http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/fieldwork/Preliminary%20Report_Toivari-VIitala_Academy%20of% 20Finland_Season2010_for%20ASAE.pdf http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/fieldwork/Preliminary%20report_WHTM%20Project_fourth%20field% 20season%202011-2012.pdf http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/about http://collezioni.museoegizio.it/eMuseumPlus? service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=102262&viewType=detailView http://hum.leiden.edu/lias/research/smes/id-marks.html http://www.ees.ac.uk/news/index/195.html http://www.diskdoctor.co.uk/texts/Solar%20Eclipses%20%28Dave%20Smith%29%20-%20Part%201.pdf http://www.diskdoctor.co.uk/texts/Solar%20Eclipses%20%28Dave%20Smith%29%20-%20Part%202.pdf http://www.heritagedaily.com/2013/03/one-of-the-worlds-oldest-sun-dial-dug-up-in-kings-valley/ http://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/2012/10/17/wall-painting-fragment-from-deir-el-medina/ http://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/2013/03/01/outside-of-the-box-freeing-a-wall-painting- fragment-from-its-frame/ http://dem-online.gwi.uni-muenchen.de/index.php http://www.ifao.egnet.net/uploads/rapports/Rapport_IFAO_2011-2012.pdf https://www.academia.edu/7157693/The_Manchester_Funeral_Ostracon_A_sketch_of_a_funerary_ritual https://egyptmanchester.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/texts-in-translation-14-the-stela-of-ramose-acc-no- 1759/ http://phys.org/news/2014-11-archaeologist-human-ancient-egyptian-site.html http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/november/healthcare-ancient-egypt-111714.html http://www.hngn.com/articles/49953/20141118/ancient-egyptians-had-a-government-health-care-plan.htm http://www.egypto.ulg.ac.be/docs/DeM_Conference_Prog_Final.pdf http://www.sfe-egyptologie.fr/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=27:tombe- irynefer&Itemid=68&lang=en&limitstart=20 http://egyptcentre.blogspot.nl/2015/02/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fzmf2_mPio http://theconversation.com/paid-sick-days-and-physicians-at-work-ancient-egyptians-had-state-supported- health-care-36327 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2955864/Ancient-Egyptians-NHS-Papyri-reveals-workers- http://phys.org/news/2015-02-paid-sick-days-physicians-ancient.html http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131916 http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.001.0001/oxfordhb- 9780199935413-e-32?rskey=vK0AHG&result=1 https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2016/08/emoticons-in-ancient-europe https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1107/1107.5831.pdf http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/ collections/antiquities/egyptology.aspx http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/ http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/images-world-museum-liverpool-1941-9976398 h ttp://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/look-world-museum-liverpools-mummies- 9974386 http://dmd.wepwawet.nl/ http://egyptomusee.over-blog.com/article-salle-5-vitrine-1-les-ostraca-figures-avec-bovides-37046325. html https://dl.tufts.edu https://www.ees.ac.uk/daily-life-in-ancient-egypt https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue42/6/4.cf https://mediterraneoantico.it/articoli/il-villaggio-operaio-di-deir-el-medina/ Back to top

Theban tomb TT291 at Deir el-Medina belonging to Nakht-Min, Servant in the Great Place and Servant in the Place of Truth. Late 18th dynasty Tomb 291 at Deir el-Medina The Theban tomb 291 was discovered by the French Institute in the middle of its 1922 season. It is located in the north-western part of the main cemetery of Deir el-Medina, at an altitude of 115 m. It is about 90 m from the south-western corner of the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple. The owner of the tomb was Nakht-Min. Late 18th dynasty Nakht-Min's titles: 1. Servant in the Great Place 2. Servant in the Place of Truth The picture on the left is taken from the courtyard, looking west, the Theban hills are behind the tomb. The tomb shaft is visible in the foreground. Below is the picture taken from behind the pyramidion of the of the tomb, looking east towards the settlement on the right, the temple enclosure wall in the distance on the left. Dating of the tomb The exact dating of the tomb is difficult. The epigraphic style of this tomb is more elaborate and less cursive and is undoubtedly older than the style in the tombs of the 19th and 20th dynasties at Deir el-Medina he title "Servant of the Great Place" is more characteristic of the 18th dynasty than of the Ramesside period The depiction of the god Amun is intact and is located in a prominent and visible position, suggesting that the tomb predates the reign of Akhenaten The style of painting also provides good clues: the frieze consists of a series of lotus flowers alternating with bunches of grapes - an ornamental motif characteristic of the 18th dynasty The human figures have large heads for the size of their bodies. The figure of the two women in the 2nd register of the west wall can be well studied because their transparent clothes show their silhouette: the stomach is too big, the thighs are round, the arms are slender. These characteristics do not correspond to the Ramesside style, but rather to the Amarna style. The painted reliefs of the tomb seem comparable in style to those of the tomb of Ay in the Western Valley The now missing relief depicting the god Osiris in his shrine, the offering table and the person offering to the god can be seen in this picture. The graffito mentioned at the end of this page may be the one visible just above the lotus flowers on the offering table. In view of all these chronological indications and stylistic similarities, Bruyère dated the tomb to the end of the 18th dynasty, or more precisely to the period immediately following the reign of Akhenaton. The interior of tomb 291 I found a black and white picture of the interior of this tomb in a 1926 publication: to my horror the missing relief on the right side was still in place! The relief on the right (northern) side of the chapel had clearly been removed - cut out! The now missing relief depicting the god Osiris in his shrine with the offering table and the person offering to the god can be seen in this picture. The graffito mentioned at the end of this page may be the one visible just above the lotus flowers on the offering table. The tomb belongs to the category of chapel tombs. It had the following layout: a small open courtyard at ground level, a one-room vaulted chapel surmounted by a brick pyramid topped by a stone pyramidion, and a large funerary stele beyond. The vaulted chapel was very richly decorated. The shaft near the courtyard leads to the underground passage and two burial chambers. A plan of the tomb of Nakht-Min, no. 291. Drawn by Lenka Peacock, after a drawing of Bernard Bruyère, in Tombes Thebaines I. Tombe de Nakht-Min. In the chapel of the tomb a graffito in black ink echoes a 21st dynasty message left by Ankhefenamun, "a scribe of the Tomb", son of Butehamun. "Yours is the West, ready for you, all blessed ones are hidden in it, sinners do not enter nor any unjust. The scribe Butehamun has landed at it after an old age, his body being sound and intact. Made by scribe of the Tomb Ankhefenamun". To view and browse the digitised version of The Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings, (also known as Porter & Moss or TopBib) for this tomb, go to http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm1-1.pdf#page=392 Material for the Bibliography is gathered from an ever-expanding range of multi-lingual sources, encompassing both specialist and semi-popular Egyptological and Near Eastern publications, periodicals, museum guides, exhibition and auction catalogues, together with the growing wealth of web resources. The Bibliography also analyses a range of unpublished manuscripts, including those housed in the Griffith Institute Archive. Published in May 2014 by the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, the volumes are constantly revised and augmented. The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock With many thanks and gratitude to the late Douglas James Peacock for the translations of the French text Sources: 1. Taylor, John H.: Death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt London : British Museum Press, 2001. 2. Shaw, Ian: British Museum dictionary of ancient Egypt. London : British Museum Press, 1995. 3. Bruyere, Bernard : Tombes Thebaines. La Necropole de Deir el-Medineh. Tom 1. Cairo : 1926. 4. Černý, Jaroslav: A community of workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period Cairo : Institut Francais d'archeologie Orientale du Caire, 1973. Further bibliography Back to top

Khabekhnet was the eldest son of Sennedjem (TT1). He lived during the 19th dynasty when Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC) was on the throne. His title was "Servant in the Place of Truth". He lived in Deir el-Medina and worked in the royal tombs at the Valley of the Kings. TT2 of Khabekhnet at Deir el-Medina Khabekhnet was the eldest son of Sennedjem (TT1). He lived during the 19th dynasty when Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC) was on the throne. His title was "Servant in the Place of Truth". He lived in Deir el-Medina and worked in the royal tombs at the Valley of the Kings. Khabekhnet's house was located in the south-western part of the village. It was next to the house of his father Sennedjem (Théby,2007,276). Photography © 2007 Andy Peacock Khabekhnet was buried along with his wife, Sahte, and their family in a tomb located above and slightly to the south of his father's tomb. Khabekhnet's family was as large as Sennedjem's family. A stela found in the courtyard of the tomb contains the names of Khabekhnet, his brother Khons and several children: Mose, Anhotep, Amenemheb, Isis and Henutweret. Benedict Davies suggests that they were all descendants of Khabekhnet (Davis,1999,45). Photography © 1964 Helmut Satzinger Another group of Khabeknet's children are listed in a register on the north wall of the hall of his tomb: The sons Sennedjem (ii), Piay, Bakenanuy and Kha and the daughters Webkhet, Mutemopet and Nofretkhau (Davis,1999,45). Inscriptions on a statue of Khabekhnet and Sahte preserved the names of their three other daughters: Roy, Nodjemmut and Wabet and the names of their grandchildren Mose, Khaemseba and Mutkhati (Davies,1999,46). The substructure of the tomb contains decorations and scenes of the gods Ra, Osiris, Hathor and the king, as well as Hapi and offerings and scenes of various other deities. Photography © 1964 Helmut Satzinger The goddess Isis spreads her protective wings over the bed on which the mummy of the deceased lies and the priest with the mask of Anubis tends to it. It represents Chapter 151 of the Book of the Dead. The goddess Isis and the goddess Nepthys are kneeling beside the bed. Photography © 1964 Helmut Satzinger Another wall shows a similar scene in a slightly different form: Anubis, the jackal-headed embalmer, attends to the dead Khabekhnet, who is represented here as a mighty fish rather than the usual human mummy, lying on a lion-legged couch. The following words accompany the scene "Anubis, the imy-wt, says: I come and I am your protector of eternity, oh abdw-fish of true lapis lazuli". The four sons of Horus (Imset, a human-headed deity in charge of the liver, Hapi, a baboon-headed deity in charge of the lungs, Duamutef, a jackal-headed deity in charge of the stomach, and Kebechsenef with the head of a falcon in charge of the intestines of the lower body) flank the fish at the head and foot of the bed. The whole scene is framed by a tent at the sides of which Isis and Nepthys kneel on clumps of lilies and papyrus plants. The painting remains unique. The large "abdw" fish was identified as the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and explained as a symbol of the deceased awaiting rebirth (Germond,2001,143). Patrick Houlihan admits that the exact meaning of this fish mummy is uncertain, but he thinks that it probably represents the deceased joining with the god Osiris (Houlihan, 1996, 132). Ingrid Gamer-Wallert (Gamer-Wallert,1970,131-132) suggests that the abdw fish is related to the tilapia, a fish that symbolises rebirth in ancient Egyptian art. She argues that the fish in this painting represents the followers of Re and his boat, or even a manifestation of the sun god himself. Could it be that the dead man, believing that his continued existence was assured by the presence of the sun bark and the tilapia and abdw fish, also felt the desire to transform himself into one of these fish, and thus into one of the manifestations of Re? Why Khabekhnet chose the abdw fish in this case, rather than the more common tilapia, we may never know. Photography © 1964 Helmut Satzinger Shabti for Khabekhnet From TT2, the Western cemetery at Deir el-Medina Limestone, painted 19th dynasty, reign of Ramesses II Height: 20.8 cm The Náprstek Museum collection, Prague, Czech Republic, P6125 The shabti has a black tripartite wig and a wide collar around his neck. There are five lines of hieroglyphic inscription from a chapter of the Book of the Dead. "Sehedj, Osiris, servant in the Place of Truth, Khabekhnet, is counted, when people are called to all works that should be done in the necropolis..." (Théby,2007,273) Photographs © Náprstek Museum Photographed by Lenka Peacock To view and browse the digitised version of The Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings, (also known as Porter & Moss or TopBib) for this tomb, go to http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm1-1.pdf#page=24 Material for the Bibliography is gathered from an ever-expanding range of multi-lingual sources, encompassing both specialist and semi-popular Egyptological and Near Eastern publications, periodicals, museum guides, exhibition and auction catalogues, together with the growing wealth of web resources. The Bibliography also analyses a range of unpublished manuscripts, including those housed in the Griffith Institute Archive. Published in May 2014 by the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, the volumes are constantly revised and augmented. Sources: 1. Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. 2. Davies, Benedict G.: Who's who at Deir el-Medina : a prosopographic study of the royal workmen's community Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Her Nabije Oosten, 1999 3. Gamer-Wallert, Ingrid: Fische und Fischkulte Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1970. 4. Dodson, Aidan - Ikram, Salima: The tomb in ancient Egypt : royal and private sepulchres from the early dynastic period to the Romans London : Thames & Hudson, 2008. 5. Brewer, Douglas J. - Friedman, Renée F.: Fish and fishing in ancient Egypt Warminster : Aris & Phillips, 1989. 6. Houlihan, Patrick F.: The animal world of the pharaohs London : Thames and Hudson, 1996. 7. Germond, Philippe and Livet, Jacques: An Egyptian bestiary : animals in life and religion in the land of the Pharaohs. London : Thames and Hudson, 2001. Further bibliography Back to top

On May 5th 2015 an ancient Egyptian painted funerary linen was displayed in Paris. The rare textile has been presented by the auction house PIASA (www.piasa.fr) and will be auctioned on Thursday, June 18th, 2015 at 3pm as part of a sale of Old Master Paintings, furniture & artifacts. Egypt Centre, Swansea University, Wales The Egypt Centre is not a widely known museum and we were delighted to see that the collection is large and varied, with interesting and beautiful objects ranging from the painted coffin of a female musician from Thebes, beautiful beaded necklaces from the time of Tutankhamun, statues of gods and goddesses, to everyday objects used by the ancient Egyptians such as tools, pottery and weapons. There are around 6000 objects in the collection. Most were collected by the pharmacist Sir Henry Wellcome. Others come from the British Museum, Aberystwyth University, the Royal Edinburgh Museum, the National Museums and Galleries of Wales Cardiff, the Royal Albert Museum and Art Gallery, Woking College and private donors. Sir Henry Wellcome collected objects from excavations. The Egypt Centre's collection includes objects from Armant, Amarna, Deir el-Medina, Esna, Mostagedda, Qau etc. He also collected objects from private individuals. These include Robert De Rustafjaell, Gayer-Anderson, Berens, Cesnola, the Rev. William Frankland Hood and the Rev. William MacGregor https://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/ Painted plaster from the tomb of the craftsman Khabekhnet and his wife Saht (both right). They are worshipping the gods Isis, Ptah Sokar wearing the headdress and Ptah depicted in green (from left to right). From Deir el-Medina Limestone, plaster, pigment New Kingdom, 19th dynasty, reign of Ramesses II Accession Number W927 Height: 44.5 cm Width: 69.5 cm Currently on display on the ground floor - House of Death Davies, Benedict G. 1999. Who's who at Deir el-Medina: a prosopographic study of the royal workmen's community. Egyptologische Uitgaven 13. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. [pp. 44–47] From the EC website unchanged: Painted limestone relief depicting Khabekhnet and his wife Sahte (to the right) presenting offerings to the gods Ptah (painted green), Ptah-Sokar (wearing a headdress consisting of ram horns and double plumes), and Isis (holding a menat-collar and ankh). Both Ptah and Ptah-Sokar hold long papyrus stems. Several enthroned deities are also depicted in the scene above, although only their feet are preserved. Khabekhnet is identified in the hieroglyphs as the “Servant of the Lord of the Two Lands”. The exact provenance of this relief is unknown, although it is likely from a tomb chapel at Deir el-Medina where Khabekhnet was buried (TT 2). Khabekhnet was the eldest son of Sennedjem, whose well-known tomb (TT 1) at Deir el-Medina was discovered undisturbed in 1886. While Ptah was the main deity at Memphis, he was also the patron god to the villagers of Deir el-Medina. The relief was purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1906 from the collection of Robert de Rustafjaell (lot 404). The object is composed of three fragments, which were restored and conserved by Susan Rees at Cardiff Conservation Department. Offering stand of Paneb From Deir el-Medina Limestone New Kingdom, 19th dynasty, reign of Ramesses II or Siptah Acc. Number W957 Height: 43.0 cm Width: 26.9 cm Depth: 26.5 cm Currently on display on the 1st floor - House of Life https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/Objects/Details/3106?SavedSelections=$Page-1$Pn-P_63-e From the EC copied: Limestone base of an offering table belonging to Paneb, Chief Workman at Deir el-Medina, the village occupied by workmen who built the royal tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens. The stand was probably set up in one of the small private chapels adjoining the village. The vertical text on the front is a dedication of offerings to Amun. The horizontal text records the name of his father Neferseret and son Aapahte. On the rear is a dedication to Khnum, Satet, and Anuket, gods of the First Cataract region, who were held in particular honoured by the workmen at Deir el-Medina. According to Papyrus Salt 124, which is housed in the British Museum, Paneb lived a wild and disreputable life. He was given to fighting and drunkenness, seducing married women, stealing from the royal tombs, and threatening to murder. The object was purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome from the 1907 sale of the Robert de Rustafjaell collection. On loan to the Egypt Centre since 1971 as part of the distribution of the Wellcome collection. For similar offering table bases from Deir el-Medina, see Bruyère 1948 (p. 103); 1952 (pl. 21); 1952b (p. 42, fig. 2). The chief workman Paneb, son of Nefersenut, is well known from several sources (c. 1150–1193 BC). He is first attested as a workman in year 66 of Ramesses II. He began to prepare Tomb 211 when still a workman. He became chief workman between years 1 and 5 of Seti II and is last attested in office in year 2, probably of Siptah. He was most likely disgraced and removed from office at the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty, although the exact date is uncertain (Sweeney 2023). Bruyère, Bernard 1948. Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1935–1940). Quatrième partie. Fascicule I. Fouilles de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale 20 (1). Le Caire: L'Institut français d'archéologie orientale. Bruyère, Bernard 1952a. Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1935–1940). Quatrième partie. Fascicule II: trouvailles d'objets. Fouilles de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale 20 (2). Le Caire: L'Institut français d'archéologie orientale. Bruyère, Bernard 1952b. Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1935–1940). Quatrième partie. Fascicule III: notes à propos de quelques objets trouvés en 1939 et 1940. Fouilles de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale 20 (3). Le Caire: L'Institut français d'archéologie orientale. Sweeney, Deborah 2023. Builders behaving badly: the rise and fall of the chief workman Paneb (i) at Deir el-Medîna. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 109 (1–2), 117–129. Ostrakon with a representation of Hathor in the form of a cow New Kingdom 1550-1069 BC The goddess of love, music and drunkenness, Hathor is depicted in the form of a cow on this piece of pottery. New Kingdom 1550-1069 BC Ostrakon written by Nakhtamun to his brothers Khay and Baki concerning their ill father Nebre (circa 1279-1069 BC) From Deir el-Medina Limestone New Kingdom 1550-1069 BC Rob Demarée, "Fresh goose-fat to cure a nightmare?" (17 April 2024) https://oap.unige.ch/journals/bseg/article/view/1547/1456 Further bibliography Back to top Stelophorous statue of Hay (c. 1292-1069 BC) Limestone New Kingdom 1550-1069 BC Stela depicting Thoth in the shape of a baboon New Kingdom 1550-1069 BC

The workmen from Deir el-Medina worked throughout the year, in the hot summer as well as winter. The working week consisted of 8 working days, with days of rest on the 9th and 10th day. The Egyptian month consisted of three periods of 10 days each. The workmen's huts The craftsmen of Deir el-Medina worked throughout the year, in the hot summer as well as in the winter. The working week consisted of 8 working days, with rest days on the 9th and 10th. The Egyptian month consisted of three periods of 10 days each. Workers often seem to have taken longer weekends of three days. Apart from these days off, workers often had time off to celebrate the festivals of the major gods. These were usually spread over several consecutive days. The working day consisted of two shifts of about four hours each, with a lunch break at midday (Bierbrier,1982,52-53). Deir el-Medina and the emerald fields of the Nile Valley, seen from the footpath linking the village to the stone huts. The path between the settlement of Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Kings is the same ancient path the artisans used on their way to work 3,500 years ago. The play of shadows on the Theban cliffs in the late afternoon. None of the paths are difficult but sometimes the edge of the cliff is quite close. The workmen were mainly employed in the Valley of the Kings, preparing the tomb of the Pharaoh, or in the Valley of the Queens, preparing the tombs of the king's wives, although they also worked in other parts of the Theban necropolis, preparing the tombs of those high officials to whom the Pharaoh lent his labour as a sign of his favour. Between working days, the men spent their nights in the Valley of the Kings or in simple huts close to it. Towards the west the view of the Valley of the Kings and the surrounding desert is magnificent... ...and the view towards east - the view of the Nile Valley - is breathtaking. " It is impossible to imagine a contrast more striking than that presented by the two scenes that we had before or eyes: on one side solitude, aridity, desolation and death; on the other temples, palaces and beautiful river, vegetation, cultivated fields, herds, people, and all the movement of living nature." This remarkable view was described by M. Costaz, a member of the Commission des Arts et des Sciences, who arrived in Egypt with Napoleon's army in July 1798. army in July 1798. (Roehrig,2001,10) No doubt the ancient craftsmen would sit on the top of the cliffs near their huts and admire the view. On a clear day it is possible to see can see as far as 40 kilometres to the Red Sea Hills to the east. There were two main groups of huts at the top of the cliffs - the east and west huts - divided into four groups by the path. The huts were originally excavated by Bernard Bruyère in 1935. Each hut had two rooms, an inner room, possibly a sleeping room, and an outer room with stone seats placed along the wall of the hut. It has been noted that the construction style of the huts is consistent with the style of the main settlement at Deir el-Medina. Evidence of skilled stone cutting and the same technique of building low structures with common walls to regulate temperature is present at both sites (Meskell, 2000, 266). The exact purpose of the stone huts is not known. Apart from the obvious time-saving aspect of staying overnight, saving about half an hour's walk back to the village and the same again in the morning, while building and decorating a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, craftsmen may have set up small workshops here to make shabtis and stone stelae. Previous excavations revealed that the rooms contained artisans' tools and pottery (Meskell,2000,266). The stone huts were used not only by the tomb workers, but also by door-keepers, guardians and possibly medjay (police). There is ample evidence that there were two door-keepers of the tomb. Each door-keeper was assigned to one of the two sides of the crew. A hieratic ostrakon from the early 19th dynasty (O. Černý 17, 2-6) tells us that "there was not any door-keeper here except Psarpot, for Sanehem slept --- and the door-keeper Sunero came [only] at noon". Therefore, there must have been three door-keepers at some points. It has been suggested that the western huts were occupied by door-keepers. The guardians of the tomb were not members of the workmen's crew, but were closely associated with them. They guarded the materials and tools used in the tomb and issued them to the workmen when necessary. This was done in the presence of the foremen and the scribe, who recorded the event. They could also replace a blunt tool with a new sharp one (Černý, 1973, 160). There may have been a guard or police post in the northern cluster, used by the medjay associated with the community. This police force was needed to ensure the security of the tombs in the royal necropolis in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, as well as to to ensure the safety and good behaviour of the people working there. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms the Medjay were Nubian nomads, but during the 19th and 20th dynasties they were almost completely Egyptianised. They were part of the Medjay of Thebes-West, under the command of the "Mayor of Thebes-West". Ostraka and papyri dealing with the tomb workers repeatedly mention the number of eight policemen of the tomb (Černý,1973,261-263). Until 2009, there was no evidence of fireplaces, food preparation or bulk water storage in and around the huts, suggesting that they were not permanently occupied. This was consistent with the textual evidence we had for supplies of food and tools - they were from the main settlement (Meskell,2000,266). During the 2nd and 3rd seasons of excavation in 2009/2010, the Finnish team , led by the late Jaana Toivari-Viitala, found important new evidence in the form of a number of fireplaces - both inside and outside the rooms! The evidence was found in both the North Cluster and the East Cluster. The seats were made of limestone blocks. They were U-shaped, as if to imitate the wooden seats of the furniture in the village houses. Kenherkhepshef, who held the office of scribe from at least year 40 of Ramesses II until year 1 of Siptah (c. 1239-1193 BC), occupied the largest and most centrally located hut in the settlement. Unlike the other huts, it had three rooms. Each room was paved with limestone slabs. It may have served as Kenherkhepshef's office, where he kept records of the work on the tomb and wrote his letters to the officials of the administration. Another mark or sign was found on the path between Deir el-Medina and the huts. In the southernmost group of huts we found this sign or inscription shown in detail below. Similar signs are found on some ostraka of the 18th dynasty. Perhaps this is the name of a or a mark of ownership. "Identity marks and their relation to writing in New Kingdom Egypt" is a PhD research programme, planned for May 2011 - August 2015, at University of Leiden under leadership of Dr. Ben Haring. The objectives of the research are to explain the shapes and nature of the marks themselves, and their affinity with writing and to assess precisely how the marks were used in the workmen’s community – in addition to writing. http://hum.leiden. edu/lias/research/smes/id-marks.html The rich and varied textual documentation (ostraka and papyri) from the Deir el-Medina community helps us to understand the semantic problem of translating the words for huts and houses. It has become standard to translate the word '.t as "hut", a place outside the village walls, while the pr was the "house", the official residence within these walls. (Demarée,2006,57) Andrea McDowell noted that "...when a workman entered the service of the necropolis he was assigned a group of buildings as his official property; this group, sometimes called the swt or "places", consisted of a house in the village (pr), a hut near the Valley of the Kings ('.t), a tomb (m'h't) and a hnw. She also concluded that "... to possess a house in the village with its corresponding out-buildings was part and parcel of being a member of the gang. This official property belonged to the state, and it could not be alienated or shared". Jac Janssen and Pieter Pestman concluded that "it seems that in Deir el-Medina a building erected by the owner himself remains his personal property (O. Petrie 61), and is usually heritable, while the pr belongs to the crew (O. Petrie 61, 6-7), (Janssen/Pestman,1968,160). Conclusions drawn by Robert Demarée, following observations emerging from the collection of all available data from the texts from Deir el-Medina, are as follows: the word pr always refers to a dwelling house, a home (or even a household) inside the village, clearly the '.t is a structure or building outside the village proper an '.t is a place where work is done the workmen could stay or sleep in an/their '.t, also when they were ill objects could be stored or hidden in a '.t. There could be enough space inside for storing a big object like a coffin a private stela erected in an '.t identified its owner, and could be used against claims by fellow workmen or others (below) an '.t could be inherited and be part of a transaction or exchange deal (Demarée,2006,65) Dispute over a hut From Deir el-Medina Mid 20th dynasty, Ramesses III Limestone Fragment of a limestone ostrakon with a hieratic inscription describing the settlement of a dispute over a hut inherited by a craftsman named Wennofer. The author of the text, Wennofer, claims ownership of his father's hut, which at the time was occupied by another craftsman who also claimed ownership. They both went to the chief craftsman Khonsu and his deputy to settle their dispute. It was decided that Wennofer had the right to the hut, but that he should compensate the other party for any improvements made while he lived there. There follows a list of items made in payment. The inscription is not written in ink. It is unusual in that it is cut into the limestone and filled with blue frit, a technique used for formal hieroglyphic inscriptions. Andrea McDowell suggests that Wennofer may have set this ostrakon like a stele into a wall of the disputed hut in order to make his claim to the building widely known. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Inv. no. ANAsh.H.O.655 Gift of Sir Alan Gardiner [Reporting by] the workman Wen-nefer (and) the work[man...saying] there be given to me the hut (of) my father [...] in the presence of: the chief workman Khonsu the deputy [...] [...] And they said to me, "Give him grain [...for the construction] that he made in it." List of the silver [given to him...] box: 2 deben, 3 oipe of it belonging to me [...from his?] wood And I made for him a staff [...from?] his wood and [...] hen-box, X deben [...] (Translation from McDowell,1999,180) There are many rock carvings on the rock surfaces in the immediate vicinity of the stone huts. The majority of the textual graffiti dates from the 19th and 20th dynasties, when the number of workers at Deir el-Medina increased. It is likely that most of them were somewhat literate and perhaps their movement around the necropolis was more relaxed. The inscriptions are spread over large areas of the rock surface, but are sometimes found in small clusters. (Peden,2001,147-170). We found some textual graffiti along the lower part of the rock spur on the east face of el-Qurn by the southernmost stone structure, which may have functioned as a watch for the guards. The archaeological evidence suggests that the huts were abandoned at the latest at the beginning of the 21st dynasty, around the years 17-18 of Ramesses XI, when the community of craftsmen left Deir el-Medina and moved to the safety of the walls of Medinet Habu. The decline suggests that the stone huts and the surrounding cliffs were rarely visited during these troubled times.(Peden,2000,289). It is not only the textual evidence that so richly documents the site's past. The area around the huts, and indeed the whole of the ground at the top of the cliffs in the Theban hills, is littered with thirty-million-year-old fossilised clamshells. Some small, some as big as a fist. They are reminders of the time when the area was under the sea. (Weeks,2005,224). Photography © 2007 Warwick Barnard Traces of small stone huts of Ramesside date have been found in the area opposite the shrine of Ptah. At the bottom of the Valley of the Kings, remains of these huts have been excavated and studied. “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,” said Jaana Toivari-Viitala. “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 worked at the site during three further field seasons, each consisting of three months. The research group, called "Workmen's huts in the Theban mountains", returned to the site in October 2009. http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/tyomiesmajat-theban-vuoristossa-projekti-2008-2013/ I recently discovered a fascinating image on the Brooklyn Museum's Flickr page. The image is part of the Brooklyn Museum's collection of lantern slides (a lantern slide is a transparent image on glass that could be projected in magnified form onto a surface using a "magic lantern" or "sciopticon"). In the second half of the 19th century, this technology expanded the uses of photography, allowing photographic images to be seen by a wide audience. This view of the temple site at Deir-el-Bahari, taken from the top of al-Qurn, captures the stone huts in the centre of the picture. Unfortunately, this slide is undated, but there are about 100 years between the black and white slide on the left and the colour digital photograph on the right. The older image is owned by the Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn Museum Archives (S10|08 Deir-El-Bahari, image 9931). © Brooklyn Museum Archive Photography © 2007 Andy Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock, Philippa Robins, Warwick Barnard and the Brooklyn Museum Archive Sources: 1. Černý, Jaroslav: Egypt from the death of Ramesses III to the end of the 21st dynasty. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1965. 2. Bierbrier, Morris : The tomb-builders of the pharaohs Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 1982. London : Phoenix, 1984. 4. Clayton, Peter A.: Chronicles of the Pharaohs : the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 1994. 5. Davies, Benedict G.: Who's who at Deir el-Medina : a prosopographic study of the royal workmen's community Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Her Nabije Oosten, 1999. 6. Weeks, Kent R.: The treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings Cercelli : White Star Publishers, 2005. 7. Roehrig, Catharine H.: Explorers and artists in the Valley of the Kings Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 2001. 8. Meskell, Lynn: Spatial analyses of the Deir el-Medina settlement and necropoleis IN: Deir el-Medina in the Third Millennium AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R.J. Demarée and A. EgbertsLeiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000. 9. Janssen, J. J. and Pestman, P. W.: Burianl and inheritance in the community of the necropolis workmen at Thebes. IN: Journal of the Economic and Socail History of the Orient 1968, no. 11, p. 137-170. 10. Černý, Jaroslav: A community of workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period Cairo : Institut Francais d'archeologie Orientale du Caire, 1973. 11. Haring, Ben: Tombs, papyri and ostraca : historical developments in the royal necropolis administration of the New Kingdom Lecture delivered at the Egypt Exploration Society London study day: The Men of the gang : the village of Deir el-Medina and its inhabitants, 25th October 2008. 12. Demarée, Robert J.: A house is not a home - what exactly is a hut? IN: Living and writing in Deir el-Medine: socio- historical embodiment of Deir el-Medina texts / Andreas Dorn, Tobias Hofman (eds). Basel : Schwabe Verlag, 2006. 13. Peden, A.J.: The workmen of Deir el-Medina and the decline of textual graffiti at West Thebes in late dynasty XX and early dynasty XXI IN: Deir el-Medina in the Third Millennium AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R.J. Demarée and A. EgbertsLeiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000. 14. Peden, A.J.: The graffiti of pharaonic Egypt : scope and roles of informal writings (c. 3100-332 B.C.) Leiden : Brill, 2001. 15. http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/English/engframe.htm 16. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/archives/lantern_slide_collection/copy/history 17. http://hum.leiden.edu/lias/research/smes/id-marks.html 18. http://www.egyptologinenseura.fi/tyomiesmajat-theban-vuoristossa-projekti-2008-2013/ Further bibliography Back to top

The tomb 1159 is located within Deir el-Medina's western cemetery where around twelve tombs have been identified with certainty as dating to the 18th dynasty. Tomb 1159 at Deir el-Medina Tomb 1159 is located in the western cemetery of Deir el-Medina, where about twelve tombs have been identified with certainty as belonging to the 18th dynasty: TT8 of Kha, TT291 of Nu and Nakhtmin, TT 325 of Simen?, TT 338 of May, TT 340 of Amenemhat (also TT354), DM 1089 of Simen, possibly also associated with TT 325, DM 1099 of Khunefer, DM 1138 of Nakhy and Amenwahsu, DM 1159A of Sennefer, DM 1166 (name lost) and DM 1352 of Setau (Demarée,2000,97). The area is located in the south-western part of the cemetery. The location of grave 1159 is marked with a red cross in the photo below. Tomb 1159 is a pit dug into the rock. There are two levels in the tomb. The upper level - in a 3m deep shaft - contained the burial of Hormes. His tomb was discovered and excavated by the Italian expedition that carried out the first scientific excavation of Deir el-Medina between 1905 and 1909, led by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli. In the Hormes tomb they found a large piece of a painted linen shroud, which used to cover a coffin or a piece of furniture, a fragment of the base of a stele, a funerary cone, an offering table and several pieces of pottery (Matiegková, 1931, 320). The plan of the tomb according to Bruyère's drawing In 1928 the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo under the direction of Bernard Bruyère discovered two pits on the western side of the tomb of Hormes during excavations in the area. The first pit did not lead anywhere, but in the second pit 5 steps were uncovered (Matiegková, 1931, 320). The steps lead 1.7 metres down to a square room with a bricked-up vaulted entrance, which meant that there could be an undisturbed grave behind it. The tomb was officially opened on 7 February 1928. This lower burial chamber was 1.25m high, almost square, measuring 2.35m along the eastern wall, 3m along the western wall, 2.70m along the northern wall and 2.65m along the southern wall. The maximum height of the ceiling was 1.9 m. The walls were roughly cut and undecorated. Bruyère's sketch of the interior of the tomb as found in the week of the 2nd-7th February 1928 can be viewed in his notebook published on-line by IFAO: http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+ Sennefer&os=5 The tomb belonged to a workman called Sennefer who lived in Deir el-Medina towards the end of the 18th dynasty. It has been suggested by Jacques Aubert (Aubert,1974,62) that Sennefer was most likely a contemporary of Tutankhamun because the shabtis found in his tomb were made in the same style as those of this pharaoh. Sennefer's title was "Servant in the Place of Truth" as it appears on his coffin. He was one of the workmen of the necropolis who worked on the construction of the royal tombs. In the south-eastern corner of the burial chamber there was a pile of 17 dried funerary bouquets attached to poles wrought in leaves. These were probably carried by the mourners during the funeral procession, similar to the scenes depicted on ancient Egyptian tomb walls. At the rear of the tomb 2 anthropoid coffins were found. Both were painted black with yellow inscriptions and decorations. The other coffin rested on a wooden trestle and was covered with a large finely woven linen shroud. A smaller piece of linen was placed on top. The canvas shows the profile of a seated man looking to the right. In front of him is a pile of offerings. He wears a white, medium-length, pleated kilt, his neck is decorated with an usekh necklace. On his head is a short black curly wig topped with an ointment cone. The seat he sits on is black, with animal legs and a high curved back. He holds a piece of cloth in his right hand, while his left hand is extended towards the offerings, consisting of 3 pieces of bread, 3 pieces of vegetables and a piece of meat. In the field in front of him are two columns of hieroglyphs written in black ink. They read from top to bottom, the right one first: "Osiris, Servant in the Place of Truth, Sennefer".New Kingdom, TT1159 - the tomb of Sennefer, Deir el-MedinaEgyptian Museum Cairo, JE 54885 Photography © kairoinfo4u Bruyère's sketch of the piece of linen can be seen in his notebook, published online by the IFAO: http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+S ennefer&os=8 The coffin closer to the entrance was smaller and rested on the floor. It was made of sycamore wood and was more expensive than the larger coffin. Another, tiny coffin, was placed near the heads of the two coffins. It belonged to a child and was made of lime-washed wooden planks. In the corner was a wooden box with a triangular lid, made of sycamore wood, containing: 2 wooden shabtis wrapped in linen, 2 cosmetic jars, 1 pair of sandals and some pearls. A wooden stool with a leather seat was placed on top. Persea branches were placed around the large coffins. In the north-east corner of the burial chamber were 2 ceramic jars and 3 plates containing persea fruit, dum dum palm nuts and grain. There was a black wooden handle of a fan. It was inlaid with ebony and ivory. 2 walking sticks were wrapped in linen (Matiegková,1931,321-322). Scroll down to see photographs of the human remains - the skulls of Sennefer and Neferit. Bruyère's sketch of Sennefer's burial, found during the week of 2-7 February 1928, can be seen in his notebook, published online by the IFAO: http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+S ennefer&os=7 The large coffin contained the body of Sennefer. It was wrapped in linen and a cartonnage mask was placed over his face. Wreaths of vine, willow and lotus flowers were placed on his chest. A black stone heart scarab with gilding was attached to the wrapped body with 3 strings of blue and gilded pearls. A gilded wooden pectoral may have been attached to the strings, but came loose and was found on the side of the coffin. Bruyère's sketch of the pectoral found in Sennefer's coffin during the week of 2-7 February 1928 can be seen in his notebook published online by the IFAO: http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Senn efer&os=10 Further down on Sennefer's wrapped body a wooden headdress, a wooden cubit and 4 wooden rulers were found. Several bronze objects and small perfume jars were placed at his feet. Neferit's body rested in the smaller sycamore coffin. She was also wrapped in layers of linen, but there was no cartonnage mask over her face and no objects were found inside the coffin or on her wrapped body (after unpacking the body a necklace of turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli and gold, an arm and wrist bracelet and 2 rings were found adorning her body). The child was placed in the smallest coffin, measuring 88 cm. The body was placed in a stretched position with the arms next to it. It was wrapped in linen and no traces of mummification were found. Some remains of brown skin were preserved and the fractured skull contained brown powder. The body measured 76 centimetres. On the basis of the size and the development of the teeth, the anthropologists estimated the age of the child at death to be 8-12 months (Matiegková, 1931, 327). The Czech Egyptologist Jaroslav Černý took part in the discovery. Some objects from the tomb are now housed in the Náprstek Museum,while the human remains are part of the collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Anthropology , Charles University. Both museums are located in Prague, Czech Republic. Sennefer's skull from the collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Anthropology, Charles University, Prague Neferit's skull from the collection of the the Hrdlička Museum of Anthropology, Charles University, Prague I would like to express my thanks to Hans Ollermann from Holland, who improved the images of Neferit's skull. It was noted that the causes of death of both Sennefer and Neferit could not be established, nor could the order in which they died. There was no written evidence that Neferit was Sennefer's wife, but together with the baby found in the coffin next to theirs, all three seem to form a family unit. The text on this page was written by Lenka PeacockPhotography © Lenka and Andy Peacock and kairoinfo4u Sources: 1. Deir el-Medina in the third millenniuim AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R. J. Demarée and A. Egberts Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000. 2. Navrátilová, Hana : Sennefer IN : Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. p. 128-131. 3. Bruyère, Bernard: Rapport sur les Fouilles de Deir el Medineh (1928) Le Caire : Imprimerie de l'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, 1929. 4. Aubert, Jacques F.: Statuettes egyptiennes Paris : Libraire dAmerique et d'Orient Adrien maisonneuve, 1974. 5. Matiegková, L., Matiegka, J.: Hrob Sen Nefera a tělesné znaky staroegyptského lidu za doby XVIII dynastie (Le tombe de Sen Nefer et les caractères physiques des anciens Egyptiens au temps de la XVIIIe dynastie Offprint : Anthropologie IX, cis. 1. pp. 320-335. Praha : Grafické závody V. & A. Janata v Novém Bydžově, 1931. 6. http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3% A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Sennefer&os=5 (last accessed on Oct 2 2012) 7. Tomsová, Julie: Dvojí život Sennefera z Dér el-Medíny : Bachelor degree thesis Praha : Univerzita Karlova v Praze , Filozofická fakulta, Český egyptologický ústav, 2014. Further bibliography Back to top

The third field season of the Finnish team at the Deir el-Medina stone huts, commenced in October 2010 under the leadership of Jaana Toivari-Viitala of the Helsinki University. The main goal of the season was to excavate the area of the huts in the Eastern cluster. 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. Photography © 2007 Andy Peacock Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen “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. Photography © 2007 Andy Peacock Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen 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. Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen 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. Photography © 2007 Andy Peacock Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen 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. Photography © 2007 Andy Peacock 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. Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen 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. Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen 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. Photography © 2011 Heidi Kontkanen 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 Back to top

Qen's tomb no 4 at Deir el-Medina lies within the Western cemetery. Qen's tomb no 4 at Deir el-Medina The 2020 campaign of the IFAO mission to Deir el-Medina took place from 5 January to 1 March under the direction of Cédric Larcher. The results have been published in the Bulletin archéologique des Écoles françaises à l'étranger - Deir el-Médina (2020) Mission d'étude et de restauration on https://journals.openedition.org/baefe/2985#tocto2n1 The following text is a translation into English from the original French: Located south of TT 335 (Nakhtamon) and north of TT 213 (Penamon), the tomb of Qen has a relatively simple layout. Its superstructure consists of a courtyard leading to a chapel with both sculpted and painted decoration, a rarity for tombs of the Deir el-Medina period. The chapel is modest in size: 3.27 m north-south by 2.03 m east-west. A pit in the north-western part of the chapel, 2.40 m deep, gives access to two undecorated burial chambers (Vault 1 and Vault 2). The first measures 3.70m by 3.20m and the second 3.80m by 2m. An external pit (no. 1054) to the south of the chapel gives access to the third vault (3.80m by 3.50m), which is connected to vault 2 and may be an older vault reused by Qen. After a fire, only a pillar and the southern jamb of the doorway still bear traces of inscriptions. The north wall shows traces of decoration. The literature on the tomb mainly refers to the texts inscribed on the walls of the chapel. Only two photographs of the reliefs of TT 4 have been published so far, which shows the importance of a comprehensive publication of this tomb (Černy 1927, pl. IV, figs. 1-2). Since 2013, several stages of research have been carried out on this tomb: - Production of facsimiles - Creation of a topographical survey and a 3D model by Olivier Onézime (topographer) - photographic coverage of the tomb by Ihab Mohamed Ibrahim (photographer, IFAO) - Study of the objects kept in the Carter's storerooms. In 2019, a team of restorers (Christina Verbeek and Stefan Lochner) carried out a laser test in the decorated burial chamber (Vault 3) to determine how to remove the thick layer of soot under which the decorations are partially visible. In addition to the soot, there is a layer of clay combined with a relatively thick layer of settled dirt, which would require a lengthy restoration process to remove. The study of TT 4 will therefore continue at this stage. In 2019, new research will be carried out to bring together all the monuments of TT 4, and a first stay at the Griffith Institute in Oxford will allow partial consultation of the archives of Jacques Jean Clère kept there. During the two weeks spent in Deir el-Medina during the 2020 mission, the drawings made between 2014 and 2016 were verified and compared with the old photographic archives. It was also possible to encode and transliterate the hieroglyphic texts on the north, south and west walls of the chapel, which are the least legible. Due to the current state of health (pandemic), it has not yet been possible to complete the museographic mission to bring together all the objects from TT 4. This will be done as soon as possible in order to start writing the publication. Sources: 1. Černy, Jaroslav: Le culte d’Amenophis I chez les ouvriers de la Nécropole thébaine, IN : BIFAO 27, 1927, p. 159-203. 2. https://journals.openedition.org/baefe/2985#tocto2n1 Further bibliography Back to top

The fourth group of cult buildings is located to the southwest of the main temple. Most of these structures were called Chapelle Votive by Bruyère. Chapels southwest of the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple To the south and south-west of the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple is a group of cult buildings. Bruyère called these buildings Chapelle Votive. Many of them were situated on the lower slopes of the cliff, while others were on a narrow terrace cut into the rock at a higher level. My aim was to compare Ann Bomann's plans and detailed descriptions, based on her text published in 1991 pp. 40-44 with the remains of the cult buildings at Deir el-Medina in February 2007. The results, together with photographs, can be found on the following page. Chapelle Votive 1 This chapel stood to the south-west of the main enclosure wall. Its long axis ran parallel to the wall. It lies on the level valley floor just before the escarpment to the sheer cliffs rising to the west. Its sanctuary lay to the north-west. The structure included a forecourt, outer and inner halls, a pronaos and sanctuary, and a side annex. The length of the building, including the forecourt, was approximately 19.15 metres. The mud bricks had an average size of 33x15x9 cm. The forecourt had two entrances to the north, one to the south and possibly one to the east. The outer hall was reduced in size to that of the inner hall and appears to form an antechamber to the latter. The inner hall had two benches against the north and south walls. The northern bench was 39 centimetres deep, 30 centimetres high and 3.03 metres long. The south bench was half as long. According to the plans, 12 limestone seats were originally set into the benches, 7 to the north and 6 to the south. According to Ann Bomann, some of these seats could be the ones now in the Turin Museum. They are inscribed in ink or engraved with the names of workers from the village. Beyond the inner hall were the pronaos and the sanctuary. The pronaos measured 4.40x2 metres. Its entrance wall consisted of a single layer of mud brick divided by a doorway consisting of 2 pillars and a step. The sanctuary had three niches and benches against the back walls. The area viewed from the west On the south or left side of the chapel there was an annex that could be entered from the forecourt, the outer and inner halls and the sanctuary. The annexe was divided into 3 sections with interconnecting doors. Chapelle Votive 2 This chapel was located to the southwest of Chapelle Votive 1, with its sanctuary to the west. Only the shell of the building remains. The structure includes an irregularly shaped forecourt, outer and inner halls, a pronaos and a sanctuary. A series of terraces and stairs led to the forecourt. There was a rectangular pit in the outer hall. These features could be of the foundations of some earlier houses or chapels dating from the 18th century. Bonnet and Valbelle excavated houses to the south of this chapel. The houses were dated to Tuthmosis I (1524-1518 BC). The inner hall had 2 jar placements near the north wall. There were no benches in either hall. The pronaos was entered by 4 steps set between balustrades. At the southern end there was a sunken rectangular area. The sanctuary was asymmetrically divided into a large and a small section. The area is dotted with burial shafts. Their connection with Chapelle Votive is not proven. Remains of the foundations of earlier houses and/or chapels from the 18th dynasty can also be found here. Photography © Lenka Peacock 2007 Sources: 1. Bomann, Ann H.: The private chapel in ancient Egypt : a study of the chapels in the workmen's village at el Amarna with special reference to Deir el-Medina and other sites. London : Kegan Paul International, 1991. Further bibliography Back to top

The owner of the tomb 338 was called May. He was a painter employed at the Theban Necropolis and living at Deir el-Medina during the 18th dynasty, around 1300 BC. His title was the "outline draughtsman of Amun" (Rice,105-106). His tomb is situated in the Western Necropolis at Deir el-Medina. May's tomb no 338 at Deir el-Medina The owner of tomb number 338 was called May. He was a painter employed in the Theban necropolis and lived in Deir el-Medina during the 18th Dynasty, around 1300 BC. His title was the "outline draughtsman of Amun" (Rice,105-106). His tomb is located in the Western Necropolis of Deir el-Medina near the tomb of the architect Kha (TT8) and is numbered TT 338. Chapel of May The wall paintings from May's tomb were removed from the walls and taken to Turin. From Deir el-Medina / Chapel of May (TT 338) Dimensions: 185 x 145 x 225 cm Clay and painted stucco The original paintings are on display in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, in Room 06 Inventory NB: S. 7910 RCGE 45711 Photos by Lenka Peacock 2020 © Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizio di Torino http://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/S_7910/?description=&inventoryNumber=&title=chapel&cgt=&yearFrom=&yearTo=&materials=&provenance=deir+el-medina&acquisition=&epoch=&dynasty=&pharaoh= Stela of May From Deir el-Medina / Chapel of May (TT 338) End of the 18th, beginning of the 19th dynasty Limestone This round-topped stela is divided into 3 registers. The upper register shows May and his wife worshipping before Osiris and Hathor, both seated on their thrones. In the lower register the couple is seated on chairs in front of an offering table. Their daughter stands beside them. A procession of their family members approach them with their offerings: 3 men in the middle register and 4 men and 2 women in the lower register. Dimensions: 66,7 x 42 x 7,3 cm The stela is on display in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, in the Room III Inventory no. Cat. 1579 RCGE 46595 Stela of draughtsman May From Deir el-Medina End of the 18th, beginning of the 19th dynasty Limestone Height: 30 cm Width: 21 cm The stela would have come from a niche in the Chapel of May, where it would have been placed on a stone base (according to Bernard Bruyère). When Deir el-Medina was excavated in the last century, these chapels were partially or completely lost, as they were built above ground and made of mud bricks. The stela is on display at Kingston Lacy , Dorset, England, in the Billiards Room Bankes stela no. 1. Photo by Lenka Peacock 2011 © The National Trust, UK It is a round stela with a double division. In the lunette - the spatial area in the upper part of the stela - the solar barque carries a solar disc over the sky, represented by the hieroglyphic pt (sky). On the right side of the barque a child is seated with his thumb in his mouth. The lower part of the stela consists of an image of a man standing at the bottom of the right side of the stela. He is looking to the right. His arms are raised in a pose of worship. Above and in front of the figure there are 10 columns with hieroglyphic inscriptions. The columns are written from top to bottom and read from left to right. The text consists of a hymn to the setting sun: "Praise to Re when he sets in life in the western horizon of heaven. You have appeared in the western half as Atum who is in the evening, having come in your might, having no adversaries and having taken possession of the sky as Re. You appear and shine upon the back of your mother, having appeared (as) king of Divine Ennead. I have done right in your presence, and kiss the ground (for?) your crew, worshipping (whilst) you travel the heaven, your heart glad. The Island of Flame has become peaceful, your enemies are fallen and are no more. The evil dragon's abode is doomed. Your corpse is Atum in the Boat of the Morning, the rightful one of the Two Lands. Beautiful is the Boat of the Evening when is has accomplished its end. (Said) by the draughtsman May, true of voice." (Čern‎ý,1958) This type of stela is called a lucerne stela. A total of 13 lucarne stelae have been identified from Deir el-Medina. This stela is an early example of its type as the owner is shown standing rather than kneeling in worship. Only one other stela - Turin 50043 - shares this feature, all other 11 stelae show the owner kneeling. The Lucarne stelae share the following characteristics - a sun barque shown in the lunette, usually placed above the pt sign - a solar disc or other representation of the sun god is depicted in the solar barque - The sun god is accompanied by other symbols related to him (worshipping baboons, wedjat eyes). - The owner either stands or kneels in worship before the barque. - Although the owner's relatives may be depicted, this is rarely the case. - The hymn, written in columns, praises the rising and/or setting sun. Lucarne stelae were made from the late 18th dynasty to the 20th dynasty. They measure between 30 and 55 cm (Goyon, 2007, 1953-1954). To view and browse the digitised version of The Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings, (also known as Porter & Moss or TopBib) for this tomb, go to http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm1-1.pdf#page=424 Material for the Bibliography is gathered from an ever-expanding range of multi-lingual sources, encompassing both specialist and semi-popular Egyptological and Near Eastern publications, periodicals, museum guides, exhibition and auction catalogues, together with the growing wealth of web resources. The Bibliography also analyses a range of unpublished manuscripts, including those housed in the Griffith Institute Archive. Published in May 2014 by the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, the volumes are constantly revised and augmented. Sources: 1. Rice, Michael: Who is who in Ancient Egypt London : Routledge, 2002. 2. Čern‎ý, J. Egyptian Stelae in the Bankes Collection. Oxford, 1958. 3. Goyon, Jean Claude and Cardin, Christine: Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Egyptologists, Vol. 1 Peeters Publishers, 2007. 2031 p. 4. http://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/S_7910/?description=&inventoryNumber=&title=chapel&cgt=&yearFrom=&yearTo=&materials=&provenance=deir+el-medina&acquisition=&epoch=&dynasty=&pharaoh= Further bibliography Back to top