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

An enormous pit measuring over 50 metres deep and 30 metres wide. It is generally thought that the ancient inhabitants of Deir el-Medina attempted to dig a well here in search of a convenient supply of water. The Great Pit North of the Ptolemaic Temple, just before the valley opens, lies the second largest feature of Deir el-Medina (the first being the Ptolemaic Temple): an enormous pit over 50 metres deep and 30 metres wide. It is generally believed that the ancient inhabitants of Deir el-Medina tried to dig a well here in search of a convenient water supply. The search was unsuccessful, however, as the water level of the Nile was much lower than it was possible to dig, so water had to continue to be carried by donkeys from the farmlands several hundred metres away. Although the river now flows at a considerable distance from the settlement, it has changed course several times since ancient times. Napoleon's cartographers at the end of the 18th century mapped the main channel much closer to the western hills than it is today. In ancient times, water points were set up in places around the settlement and large pottery containers were provided to hold the water. From these points, water was distributed to individual houses within the village. In modern times the water points still fulfil their function, as can be seen in these pictures taken in February 2007. The picture was taken in Deir el-Medina itself, the picture below was taken on the road leading from Deir el-Medina at the crossroads to Medinet Habu and the and the Valley of the Queens. When attempts to find water were finally abandoned, the huge hole was used as a rubbish pit and filled with debris, including hundreds of ostraka. The pit was the richest source of both hieratic and figural ostraka found in the area of the village. An excerpt from Jaroslav Černý's lecture held in Cairo on April 4th 1932 (the manuscript of which is held at the Archive of the Ancient Near East and Africa Department, National Museum - Náprstek Museum, Prague, Czech Republic): "Water represents a great expenditure during the excavations. Deir el-Medina lies completely in the desert - the nearest tree is about a quarter of an hour. The ancient Egyptians had tried to dig a well in the vicinity of the temple of Deir el-Medina, but even at a depth of 60 meters they reached no water. Therefore all water for washing, cooking and drinking has to be transported from the well located down in the plain close to Medinet Habu. The well belongs to our chief workman Hassan Khalif. He gives us water for free, but we must pay the man who pumps it from the well, and the donkeys, who transport it up to our house every day from morning till evening. The expenses for water reach, if I am not mistaken, 30 crowns a day. The lion's share of this sum ends up in the pocket of our reis anyway, as the donkeys belong to him and he pays the man who pumps, and he certainly does not give him all that he charges us for him." View of the pit from east to west. The chapels north of the enclosure wall of the Ptolemaic temple are below the cliffs on the left. View of the pit looking from the south to the north, located just in front of the chapels situated to the north of the enclosure wall of the Ptolemaic temple. During archaeological excavations, Bruyère dated the current form of the pit to Ptolemaic times, but two documents from the 20th dynasty record successive attempts to dig down to the water level from a point north of the village. As there are no other very deep pits in the area, these Ramesside attempts must have been made in the same place. 1. Ostrakon DeM 92 Year 15, fourth month of winter, day 12. List of all the work done in the well: previously 36 1/2 cubits work subsequently 6 1/2 cubits total 43 2. Papyrus Turin 1923 (+ fragments) Year 2 (or 3), second month of summer, day 15. This day, the chief builder [...] of the estate of Amun arrived to measure the well in front of [...] the Necropolis to the water surface (of) the lake of the Ramesseum: from the lake to the Enclosure of the Necropolis: elevation [...] cubits from the Necropolis to the well: 26 cubits 5 palms total: 60 + X The difference makes 22 cubits 5 palms to the water surface. So one shall dig 10 to [...] the water. Total: 22 cubits 5 palms A staircase cut into the rock spirals down the walls of the pit to the bottom. The late Professor of Egyptology Dr Jaana Toivari-Viitala of the University of Helsinki posted a note on the EEF in June 2009 that Guillemette Andreau had given a talk at the Rhodes Congress in 2008 in which she announced that the IFAO & Louvre were working on texts from the Great Pit. There are 18 pages of references to the Great Pit in the Archives de Bernard Bruyère, which have been digitised by the IFAO and are now accessible at http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Fouille+du+grand+puits&page=1 The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock Sources: 1. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el-Medina / edited by Leonard H. Lesko Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1994. 2. James, T.G.H.: Pharaoh's people : scenes from life in Imperial Egypt New York : Tauris Parke, 2003. 3. Romer, John: Ancient lives : the story of the Pharaoh's tombmakers London : Phoenix, 1984. 4. McDowell, A.G.: Village life in ancient Egypt : laundry lists and love songs Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999. 5. Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. 6. http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Fouille+du+grand+puits&page=1 Further Bibliography Back to top

The chapels and shrines of Deir el-Medina The chapels and shrines of Deir el-Medina The Chapel of Seti, situated to the north of the enclosure wall of the main temple of Hathor, was first excavated by Schiaparelli in 1906. Baraize excavated a small chapel inside the northwest corner of the enclosure wall in 1912. The main work was carried out by Bruyère between 1922 and 1951. Bruyère was able to identify 32 cult buildings apart from the temple of Hathor. The cult buildings excavated by Bruyère varied in plan from a small courtyard in front of a shrine, in several cases cut into the rock, to the usual tripartite plan, with or without benches, and finally to what he classified as miniature temples. The terminology used for these varied from Temple, Chapelle, Chapelle Votive, Chapelles des Confrèries, Chapelle Religieuse. The layout of each building was determined by the nature of the cult that was practised in it. Ann Bomann was able to re-examine 27 of the cult buildings at Deir el-Medina in the last quarter of the 20th century. Her results were published in 1991. Bomann found that Bruyère had reconstructed most of the structures during excavation. She found that while the intention to preserve the buildings was laudable, it was difficult to assess certain parts of the buildings because the reconstruction was not properly distinguished from the original structure. She found that many of the walls and staircases had been completely rebuilt, in some cases using material from another part of the chapel. For example, bricks from vaulted ceilings were reused to fill in stairways. This was evident in the Temple of Hathor of Seti I. Bomann noted at the time that much of Bruyère's reconstruction was in a state of disrepair, with walls and staircases collapsing in many of the buildings. None of the original floors were visible, having been covered with gravel and sand. Features such as sunken column bases, ovens and basins, which were shown on earlier plans, had either disappeared or been moved. Very little of the original plasterwork and murals mentioned in Bruyère's accounts survived. I have tried to compare Ann Bomann's plans and detailed descriptions, based on her text published in 1991 pp. 39-51 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 pages. Chapels within the temple enclosure wall The second group of religious structures is to be found within the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple at Deir el-Medina. Chapels southwest of the temple enclosure wall 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 north of the temple enclosure wall The first group of the chapels at Deir el-Medina lay to the north of the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple. The chapel area covers the slope which rises gently to the steep cliffs to the west. Chapels east of the temple enclosure wall Another group of cult structures is located to the east of the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple. The remains of a Ramesside chapel are to be found here. 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. 2. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete temples of Ancient Egypt.London : Thames & Hudson, 2000. 3. Clayton, Peter A.: Chronicles of the Pharaohs : the reighn-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 1994. Further bibliography Back to top

In the Liverpool galleries I photographed 6 objects that originally came from Deir el-Medina and that were on display at the time. The Museum currently holds 4 additional objects whose provenance is now researched as Deir el-Medina - they are added to the list below. World Museum, Liverpool Liverpool's World Museum has one of the largest collections of ancient Egyptian and Nubian antiquities in the UK, with over 16,000 objects dating from around 5,000 BC to 642 AD. The original core of the Egyptian collection was given in 1867 by Joseph Mayer, an English goldsmith, collector and antiquarian (1803-1886), and was later expanded by supporting fieldwork projects of the Egypt Exploration Society, Flinders Petrie's British School of Archaeology in Egypt and especially John Garstang's excavations at Liverpool University. During the Blitz in May 1941, more than 3,000 Egyptian objects were destroyed by the Luftwaffe, with an incendiary bomb causing structural and fire damage to the building. http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/ The expanded and redesigned Ancient Egypt gallery at Liverpool's World Museum, refurbished at a cost of £1.8m and reopened at the end of April 2017 after a year and a half of closure, is now the largest exhibition of its kind in the UK outside of the British Museum in London. The gallery space has tripled in size to around 1000m². The expansion allowed for the display of objects that had never been shown before, or that had been in storage for decades, and although the plan promised to triple the number of objects on display, it remained at around 1300. The gallery space, themed "Ancient Egypt: A Journey through Time", is divided into 7 chronological and thematic sections: "5,000 Years" outlines the time scale and introduces the key themes. The focus of the "River Nile" zone is a late predynastic female tomb excavated by John Garstang at Kostamneh in Nubia, now submerged under Lake Nasser. The People of Egypt section focuses on daily life, religion and art. the "African Kingdoms" section outlines the dominance of various powers over time and includes Nubian, Meroitic and Greek and Roman material. The highlight of the 'Afterlife' section is a 4 metre long Ptolemaic Book of the Dead papyrus of Djedhor, son of Tapes, preserved on 5 leaves in both hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts, displayed for the first time alongside 150 shabtis, a 127 centimetre high wooden statue of Osiris, animal mummies and decorated coffins. Liverpool Discovery, a circular area, illustrates Liverpool's importance as a conduit for Egyptian artefacts to England. The 'Mummy Room', flanked by a pair of Sekhmet statues, contains 9 mummies, some of which are suspended above the coffin basins on multi-level supports, with each level illuminated by LED tubes. I visited the galleries in the summer of 2015 during a trip with P.A.D.E.S. - Plymouth and District Egyptology Society - with 5 other members of the Egyptian Society Taunton , on whose committee I serve as webmaster. In the Liverpool galleries I photographed 6 objects originally from Deir el-Medina which were on display at the time. The museum currently holds a further 4 objects whose provenance is now known to be Deir el-Medina - these are added to the list below. In order to make this list complete, I have also added 2 additional objects which were unfortunately destroyed during the 1941 bombing and are therefore no longer part of the museum's collection. It is interesting to note that the majority of the objects listed below - 8 out of 12 - are from Deir el-Medina and were part of Joseph Mayer's original collection with which he opened his Egyptian Museum in 1852. This was a very early date for objects from the settlement, as no scientific excavation of the site had yet been undertaken. The objects must have been either illicitly excavated by the locals in the early 19th century and/or collected by Bernardino Drovetti, the French Consul General, or Henry Salt, the British Consul General, in the 1810s, or by John Gardner Wilkinson, the pioneering English Egyptologist, who recorded information on several tombs at Deir el-Medina in the 1820s. Mayer had acquired the collection in 1839 from Joseph Sams, a Darlington bookseller, who himself had acquired it between 1830 and 1838 as part of the Egyptian collection of Charles Bogaert, a Bruges businessman (see Sams, Joseph: 'Ancient Egypt: Objects of Antiquity forming part of the Extensive and Rich Collections from Ancient Egypt, brought to England by, and now in the possession of, J Sams", London, 1839, pl.22,2). It has also been suggested that Bogaert received his collection as repayment of a debt from Jean-Baptiste de Lescluze, a Belgian shipowner and merchant who had collected the material in Egypt between 1824 and 1825 (NML,2018). The remaining 4 objects were part of a large donation of some 200 objects from the Trustees of the Wellcome Institute in 1973. I would like to thank the Liverpool World Museum and its staff, in particular Dr Ashley Cooke, Head of Antiquities & Curator of Egyptology, for kindly allowing me to include the museum's finds from Deir el-Medina on my website and for providing me with high quality images of the objects, and Maureen Smith, PA to the Director of the World Museum, for her assistance. All images © National Museums Liverpool Photography by Lenka Peacock and National Museums Liverpool Fragment of an offering stela From Deir el-Medina Ramesside, possibly 19th dynasty Limestone Dimensions: 15x17x4 cms Inv. no.: 1973.2.340 Gift of the Trustees of the Wellcome Collection, 1971 Currently not on display This fragment is the lower left part of a larger stela carved in fine sunken relief. The right side shows a man kneeling with his arms raised in worship, looking to the left. On the basis of similar votive stelae from Deir el-Medina, it can be assumed that the upper register, which is now missing, bore the image of a deity, royal person or high official (vizier) whom the man is worshipping. He is clean-shaven or bald and wears an ankle-length kilt. Traces of brownish pigment remain on his head and arms. On the left, the kneeling man faces 3 vertical columns with hieroglyphic inscriptions. Translation: Line 1: the Ka of the Servant of the Place of Truth Line 2: Pa-hy-Hat, the justified, Line 3: and his son, the Servant... Transliteration: Line 1: kA n sDm- m st-mAat Line 2: pA-xy-HAt mAa-Xrw tr Line 3: i sA.f sDm- The name is not easy to read and the identity of the person mentioned is not yet certain. The available corpus of Deir el-Medina texts does not mention a Pahyhat with the title "sDm m st mAat" - the "Servant in the Place of Truth". of the Truth". We do know of a Pahyhat with the title of "Water Carrier" - "pA-xy-HA.t in-mw" - in lines 4-5 of the hieratic text of an ostrakon now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford O.Ashmolean 56, who is known from this particular text dated to year 3 of Ramesses IV (c. 1152 BC) - 20th Dynasty - where Pahyhat delivers grain and vegetables with his well-known contemporary, Pentaweret. Richard Mandeville lists him in his master's thesis on the water carriers of Deir el-Medina written at the University of Liverpool (Mandeville, 16). Pahyhat in the text on this stela gives his title as "Servant of the Place of Truth" and not as "Water-carrier", so although this gives us evidence that individuals with this name existed at Deir el-Medina, this must be a different Pahyhat, one about whom we have not yet found any additional information. Some Egyptologists suggest that his identity is that of PAy, the Servant of the Place of Truth, who was active at Deir el-Medina from the reign of Horemheb until early in the reign of Ramesses II (c. 1319-1280 BC). The date of the stela, as suggested on stylistic grounds, coincides with the 19th dynasty (c. 1290-1270 BC). Gina Criscenzo-Laycock points out the way the man's raised arms are depicted. Unlike most contemporary votive stelae from Deir el-Medina, where the arms of the worshipper are raised with a gap between them, this stele shows them almost overlapping. In her article (Criscenzo-Laycock,2011,123) the author lists 2 other stelae with the same feature, both in the British Museum (BM EA278 and BM EA374 ). The author mentions the lack of space as a possible reason for the missing gap between the raised arms, or it is possible that the listed stelae are all the work of the same craftsman. The author dates this stela on stylistic grounds to the reign of Ramesses II, comparing it with 5 stelae from the Turin collection (50030, 50034, 50036, 50037, 50066), where she finds certain specific stylistic elements common to all 6 stelae. The stele was bought by Henry Wellcome at an auction at the turn of the 20th century. A small piece of the auction label remains on the back of the object. No details of its exact provenance or date of discovery are known today (Criscenzo-Laycock,2011,123). Walking stick 19th dynasty (around 1295-1186 BC) Inscribed and polished wood Remains of blue pigment Length: 46.5 cms Diameter: 2.1 cms Inv. no: M13821 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 A distinction should be made between the owner of TT217, the well-known sculptor Ipuy(i), who lived at Deir el-Medina during the reign of Ramesses II (c. 1279-1213 B.C.) in the 19th dynasty, and the family of the sculptor Piay(ii), who served under Horemheb, Ramesses I and Seti I (c.1319-1279) and a workman Ipuy(vii) who is attested between year 1 of Amenmesses (c.1203-1200 B.C.) and at least year 1 of Siptah (c.1194-1188 B.C.) (Davies, 1996, 214) and to whom this object may have belonged. However, the name, even when accompanied by the title, is too general to allow for precise identification. Although the lower part of the object is lost, the complete inscription survives in the form of a carefully carved single vertical column of hieroglyphs, read from top to bottom. Much of the original blue pigment used to fill in the characters remains on the wood. The wood was originally polished and is now split where the staff was broken in half. In ancient Egypt, sticks and staffs were always regarded as insignia of status, authority and rank. This fact is supported by tomb paintings of the elite as well as by archaeological finds. (Wiese,2004,326) There is another example of a New Kingdom walking stick in the Liverpool Museum, but it is not inscribed -59.32.189 Translation of the inscription: The one greatly favoured by his god, Amun-Re, [who is] in Ipet-sut (= the temples of Karnak), the august god within the Ennead (?) Ipuy Transliteration of the inscription: Hsy aA n nTr.f Jmn-Ra m Jpt-swt nTr Sps m-Xnw psDt jn TAty tp m st J-pw-y Spss More information: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/walking-stick-5 Hieratic ostrakon From Deir el-Medina 20th dynasty Limestone Dimensions: 20 x 19 cm Inv. no.: M13624 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 Item is not currently on display The ostrakon is inscribed on both sides. The recto consists of 9 horizontal lines of hieratic inscription in black ink and contains the opening lines of the Prophecy of Neferty from Papyrus Petersburg 1116B recto. The verse consists of 9 lines of hieratic inscription written in black ink and contains a list of the household, giving the name of the householder with his title, followed by the name of his wife and their children, but without affiliations. It is impossible to tell from its format whether this household list is a draft declaration or notes for a local, domestic purpose. The list illustrated the relationship of the individual to the demands of authority (Eyre,2013,217-218). Hieratic ostrakon From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty, reign of Merenptah (around 1213–1203 BC) Limestone Dimensions: 16.5 x 11.5 cm Inv. no.: M13625 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 This limestone ostrakon is inscribed on both sides. There are 10 horizontal lines of hieratic inscription on the obverse and 9 horizontal lines of hieratic inscription on the reverse. Both black and red ink is used. Professor Jaroslav Černý suggested that both sides were inscribed by the same hand (Černý, Gardiner, "Hieratic Ostraca" (1957), plates 63 and 63a). It has been noted that the contents are various accounts of supplies and work done, i.e. in connection with a coffin and several feasts. Professor Mark Collier of the University of Liverpool gave a brief account of the inscription in 2013: “The recto opens with four lines specifying items given to an unnamed individual at a series of festivals (festivals of Taweret, Hathor and Meretseger). Lines 5 onwards are repeated instances of giving (but without specified occasion), all probably as recompense for some activity. The verso starts with a section (verso lines 1–5) of memorandum of items connected to work of 'my three lads', possibly people within a workshop. Verso line 6 end is a memorandum concerning a bed which ends up with Anupemheb, who saws off some wood for use in a coffin”. Hieratic ostrakon From Deir el-Medina 19th-20th dynasty (about 1295-1069 BC) Limestone Black ink 14.5 x 10 cms Inv. no: M13626 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 This limestone ostrakon is inscribed on both sides: the obverse (pictured) contains 9 horizontal lines of hieratic script in black ink, the reverse contains a further 7 lines of the script, mostly in black ink, except for the beginning of line 4, which is written in red. The account contains a list of wooden items produced by a carpenter for a customer. The receipt shows the value of the items in copper deben. Most of the items are of a funerary nature - 2 outer anthropoid coffins, 1 inner anthropoid coffin, 1 shabti box, blue pigment and another coffin. The total value of the goods is 112 deben. Wooden cubit rod From Deir el-Medina Late 18th dynasty Length: 52 cms Width: 3.5 cms Inv. no: M13825 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 The royal cubit was the main unit of measurement used in ancient Egypt to determine the length of objects or short distances. It measures 52.4 cm, which is approximately the length of an adult man's forearm from the elbow to the fingertips. It was made up of 7 palm widths of 4 thumb widths each (28 digits to the cubit) (Shaw,1995,174). On this particular rod the divisions of the cubit are marked on average at 1.9, 3.8 and 7.6 cm. One edge of the rod has a sloping surface. One side of the object is carved with a hieroglyphic inscription, written from right to left, containing a funerary offering formula to Amun-Re, Ptah and Thoth on behalf of Nakhy, a tomb builder from Deir el-Medina. Translation: An offering which the King gives to Amun-Re and to Ptah, Lord of the Two Lands, and to Thoth, Lord of Divine Words, great god who dwells in Hermopolis, so that they may give life, prosperity and health, and a good lifespan, following their Ka's, for the Ka of the Servant in the Place of Thruth, Any. This workman Nakhy should not be confused with the workman Nakhy, son of Bukentef, who lived at the end of the 19th dynasty or with the latter's grandfather, the chief craftsman Nakhy, who came from another family. The workman Nakhy and his wife are known from following objects now in other European museums: - stela no. 50010 in the Turin Museum (M .Tosi and A. Roccati, "Stele e altre epigrafi di Deir el Medina. (n. 50001-50262) : Pubblicate con il contributo del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche" (Turin, 1972), 43-4) - a limestone tomb-relief in the British Museum no. 281 (Bierbrier, M L, "Hieroglyphic Texts from Egyptian Stelae etc.", Part 10, London, BMP, 1982) - funerary cones discovered in pit 1138 at Deir el-Medina (B. Bruyère, "Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh; (1928)" (Cairo, 1929), 12-16). More information: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/inscribed-cubit-rod Shabti of Pay From Deir el-Medina New Kingdom (Ramesside Period, around 1295-1186 BC) Wood Length: 20.5 cms Inv. no: M13603 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 This is a painted wooden shabti of Pay. The arms of the shabti crossed over the chest and the bandaged lower body indicate that the figure is mummified, identifying it with the god Osiris, who is also depicted in this manner. The heavy, tripartite wig is plain, painted black with gold bands at the ends. The wig rests on an elaborate and colourful wesekh collar with four rows of black and red ornaments. The protruding hands are painted red, indicating that the figure is male. In its present state there is no trace of tools. A pair of square woven baskets are carried behind each shoulder. The shabti's beautifully carved face is painted red with large eyes outlined in black. The body is painted yellow over a white ground, with eight horizontal lines of hieroglyphic inscription written in black ink within a red frame around the figure's body. Pay's name and title are given within the text, which is the usual Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. Translation: "The illuminated one, the Osiris, the Draughtsman, Pay, the justified, he speaks: O, these shabtis, if one counts, if one reckons the Osiris, the Draughtsman, Pay, the justified, to do all works that are to be done there in the underworld – now indeed obstacles are implanted therewith – as a man at his duties, to cultivate the marsh, to irrigate the riverbank fields, to ferry by boat sand of the east to the west, ?, if one counts, if one reckons ... ‘here I am’ … Pay". Transliteration: sHD Wsir sS qd PAy mAa-xrw Dd.f i.Swbty ipn ir ip.tw ir Hsb.tw Wsir sS qd PAy mAa-xrw m kAt nbt irrt im Xrt-nTr ist Hw sdbw im [m] s r Xrt.f srwd sxt r smHt wdbw r Xnt Sa [r] iAbt r imnt iry ip.tw iry Hsb.tw ... m.k ... PAy There are 2 men with the name Pay and the title "draftsman" known from Deir el-Medina. Pay(i), son of Ipuy(v), and his grandson, also a draughtsman, Pay(ii), son of Prehotep (Davies,1996,180). This shabti figure could belong to either of them. Mummy mask From Deir el-Medina New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BC Cartonnage Dimensions: 20 cmx28 cm Inv. no: 1973.2.423 Gift of the Trustees of the Wellcome Collection, 1971 Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 This striking cartonnage mask, which was used to cover the head of a mummy, is very similar in style to the New Kingdom masks found in the tombs of Deir el-Medina. The mask was glued to the mount when it was part of the Wellcome Collection. After becoming part of the Liverpool Museums collection, the object was conserved in 1993-1994, when the flaking paint was consolidated, but it is currently impossible to remove the mount without damaging the mask. Cartonnage appeared during the Old Kingdom. It consisted of layers of linen or papyrus glued together with resin and then covered with plaster. It was moulded to the shape of the body to make mummy cases or masks. When the material was dry, it was painted. In September 2020, I saw one of the oldest known examples of this practice at the Kings of the Sun exhibition at the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic. The object came from the 5th dynasty mastaba of the Central Abusir of Mernefu. It was found in its burial chamber, placed over the face of the deceased's mummy. It is kept in the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in Prague, Inv. no. P 5704. The materials used to make cartonnage changed over time. In the Middle Kingdom it was common to use plastered linen, in the Third Intermediate Period linen and stucco, in the Ptolemaic period old papyrus scrolls and in the Roman period thicker fibrous materials. For further information: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/mummy-mask-1 Fragments of a pottery bowl From Deir el-Medina 18th dynasty, 1550-1295 BC Pottery Black and red pigment Dimensions: 5.2 cm x 7.7 cm x 1 cm Inv. no.: 1973.1.698a - top image Inv. no.: 1973.1.698b - bottom image Gift of the Trustees of the Wellcome Collection, 1971 Ex Wellcome collection inv. W34/22(3) Currently on display in Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3 The fragment shown above forms the rim and part of the base of a of a shallow bowl of polished terracotta. Black and red borders run horizontally across the top and bottom of the fragment. A jumping horse, held by a fragmentary arm on a rope, is painted in red and black pigments. The lower object consists of 4 fragments glued together and depicts a similar scene with a horse without an arm. To the right of the horse is a partial depiction of an ankh . There are 3 very similar fragments in the Louvre collection that appear to be from the same vessel. Two of these are on display in gallery 5, in display case 1, alongside other figured ostraca from Deir el-Medina. E12968A and E12968B+ C - excavated by Bernard Bruyère during his first season at Deir el-Medina from an undecorated tomb of 1095 in the 18th dynasty cemetery. All the fragments seem to show Greek influence. Could the vessel be of Minoan or Mycenaean origin? Could it have come to Thebes and later to Deir el-Medina as part of an import? Or was it Minoan influence, as now suggested by a modern comprehensive comparative study of murals at several New Kingdom sites that reflect Egyptian artistic production? Perhaps chemical analysis of the fragments will answer some of these intriguing questions. More information: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/bowl-sherd http://egyptomusee.over-blog.com/article-salle-5-vitrine-1-les-ostraca-figures-avec-bovides-37046325.html Stele dedicated to Meretseger From Deir el-Medina 19th dynasty Limestone Height: 20.9 cms Width: 16 cms Inv. no: M13830 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 In the upper half of this round stele there are six serpents, all facing to the right and painted in yellow and black. The lower half of the stela is divided into 2 registers: in the right register there is the figure of a kneeling woman, facing left, with her arms raised in worship. She was named Henut by Newberry and Peet. She wears a long, finely pleated white linen dress and a perfumed cone on top of her long, elaborately curled black wig. In the left register of the lower half of the stela there are four vertical lines of hieroglyphic text written in dark colour and read from left to right, top to bottom. Translation of the text: Giving adoration to the Ka of Meretseger, Lady of the Western Desert, Mistress of Heaven, Lady of all the gods, that she might give life, health and prosperity to the Ka of the servant ... The rest of the text is very unclear. According to Peet the stele was "almost perfectly preserved", was well-executed and finely coloured. Meretseger, the "One who loves silence", was worshipped as the protective goddess of the Theban necropolis, often depicted in the form of a snake or as the Theban peak itself. This stele was on display in the 1930's and was almost certainly destroyed in 1941. Peet examined it while preparing his guide to the Gallery and his notes of the inscription are used here (Newberry-Peet,1932,53,11). Stele dedicated to Meretseger From Deir el-Medina 19th-20th dynasty Limestone Height: 12 cms Width: 14.5 cms Inv. no: M13832 Gift of Joseph Mayer, 1867 This limestone votive stele was also dedicated to the goddess Meretseger. The single scene is framed by a line border that follows the curve of this short, wide stela (possibly only the upper half). Meretseger is depicted with a female body and a serpent's head, seated on a throne facing right in front of a table piled with offerings. In her right hand she holds the Ankh-sign and in her left hand the Was-sceptre. She wears a high double-feathered crown. Around the scene there are 5 columns of vertical hieroglyphic inscriptions giving Meretseger's epithets. Translation of the text: Meretseger, the Peak of the West, Lady of the Sky, Mistress of all the gods. The technique of the stele execution was described as good - the lines were clearly carved and the scene was well proportioned (Newbery-Peet,1932,53,9). Sources: 1. Bienkowski, Piotr : Gifts of the Nile : Ancient Egyptian arts and crafts in Liverpool Museum London : HMSO, 1995 2. 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. 3. 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 4. Eyre, Christopher: The use of documents in Pharaonic Egypt Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013. 5. Newberry-Peet: Handbook and Guide to the Egyptian Collection on Exhibition in the Public Museums, Liverpool, 1932 6. 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 7. Shaw, Ian, Nicholson, Paul: British Museum dictionary of ancient Egypt London: British Museum Press, 1995. 8. 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. 9. 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. On-line resources: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/world-museum/exhibition/ancient-egypt http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org http://egyptomusee.over-blog.com/article-salle-5-vitrine-1-les-ostraca-figures-avec-bovides-37046325. html Further bibliography Back to top

On the path leading northeast from the Valley of the Queens to Deir el-Medina, rising from the desert is a low hill, into the slope of which a few reliefs and inscriptions of Ramesside kings have been cut. To the right of them there is a rock-cut sanctuary of deities, who guarded Theban necropolis The Rock shrine The number of chapels and shrines dedicated to various deities by the Deir el-Medina community indicates their devotion and need for public religious expression. Each individual chapel would have provided a local residence for the god or goddess to whom it was dedicated and an area for offerings to that deity. The chapels symbolise the community's recognition of both local and national gods. On the narrow path leading north-east from the Valley of the Queens to the village of Deir el-Medina, a low hill rises from the desert, its slope carved with several reliefs and inscriptions of Ramesside kings. To the right of these is a rock-cut sanctuary dedicated to the gods who guarded the Theban necropolis. Today the chapels are numbered A-G. One shrine was dedicated in the New Kingdom to the goddess Meretseger, another to Ptah. The sanctuary was probably begun during the Ramesside period. Several large stelae dating from the reign of Ramesses III (1182-1151 BC) have been carved into the rock at the northern end of the sanctuary. They are decorated with scenes of human beings before various deities. Stone walls surround an irregular courtyard of the large cave-like shelter at the southern end. During the Coptic period it was used by hermits. Today it is known to the locals as the "Snake Room". They are damaged and worn, but the inscriptions are legible and there are cartouches with the name of the king. Detail of a hieroglyphic inscription - nsw-bity nb tawy - "the dual king of the two lands". Pharaoh Setnakhte (1185-1182 BC) with the goddesses Mut of Asher and Hathor receiving the symbol of the Heb-sed festival from Amun-Ra and Ptah. The walls of the shrine still show traces of the original pigment. Ptah's original cultic association seems to have been with craftsmen. The high priest of Ptah held the title wr kheper hmw - "supreme leader of craftsmen". This badly eroded wall shows the remains of a relief of the goddess Meretseger with the head of a cobra. She was the goddess associated with the pyramidal top of al-Qurn and presided over the entire Theban necropolis. Her name means "she who loves silence". She was worshipped mainly by the workmen of the royal necropolis. The site was first excavated in 1905 by Ernesto Schiaparelli. Fragments found there date back to the 19th dynasty. As the rock that once formed the roof of the sanctuary had collapsed in several places and the whole sanctuary was full of stones and sand, the French Institute carried out the clearing of the site in 1926. Special permission was needed from the Egyptian Antiquities Service, as the rock-cut sanctuary was already outside the boundaries of the French concession. "Only a small number of workmen sufficed for the excavation; most problematic were the large boulders which had to be either crushed by stones and carried away piece by piece, or pulled out of the sanctuary on ropes. After turning over of one boulder, which had once formed a wall of the sanctuary, a stela was discovered engraved with scenes and inscriptions. We decided that we could not leave the stela in its place. As the stone was too heavy to be transported into our house, the scene with inscription was to be cut off. But before we received the necessary tools - we were not equipped for work of this kind - the entire stone was stolen at night and no trace of it or of the thieves was ever found. Fortunately, we had taken photographs after the discovery, as well as a hand copy and a proof leaf, so at least for study the stone is not completely lost. The photographs were sent to all antiquarians with a warning not to buy the inscription, because is stolen but I think that after some years the thieves will nonetheless succeed to sell it and the stone will appear in a European or American museum." The excerpts came from Jaroslav Černý's manuscript of his lecture called "Ten Months on Excavations in Egypt", which was held in Cairo on April 4th 1932. View of the Theban hills in the west from inside the rock shrine "Ptah of the Place of Beauty", a term frequently mentioned in ancient sources, is Ptah from one of the sanctuaries at the rock-cut shrine near the Valley of the Queens ("the Place of Beauty"). Traces of small stone huts of Ramesside date have been found in the area opposite the shrine of Ptah. About 10 metres down the path towards the Valley of the Queens we found this ancient graffiti. Vandalism in the form of modern graffiti Photography on this page © Lenka and Andy Peacock Sources: 1. Weeks, Kent R.: The treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings Cercelli : White Star Publishers, 2005. 2. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el-Medina / edited by Leonard H. Lesko Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1994. 3. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson, 2003. 4. Černý, Jaroslav: A community of workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period Cairo : Institut Francais d'archeologie Orientale du Caire, 1973. 5. Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. 6. http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/sanctuary-of-ptah-and-meretseger/ Further bibliography Back to top

Diet was varied, balanced and nutritious at Deir el-Medina. We have ample information, concerning food and drink, surviving through depictions of food processing and consumption in the funerary art, and in the form of actual food remains from funerary, religious and domestic finds. Food and drink at Deir el-Medina The diet at Deir el-Medina was varied, balanced and nutritious. We have a wealth of information about food and drink from depictions of food processing and consumption in funerary art, and from actual food remains from funerary, religious and domestic finds. Villagers received their food in the form of regular rations as wages (coinage did not exist in Egypt before the 26th Dynasty). The rations consisted mainly of grain, water, beer and oils, but also firewood, sandals, pottery, ointments, clothing and other items. Grain The vizier and the superintendent of the royal treasury were responsible for distributing grain to families in Deir el-Medina. Careful records of the allocations were kept by the village scribe. Wages were paid on the last working day of each month. Monthly rations of emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) were recorded in dry units: 1 khar was 76.89 litres. A foreman received 5 1/2 khar of wheat, a craftsman 4 khar, but a scribe only 2 3/4 khar. Jac Janssen points out that the scribe worked for both "sides" of the "crew", so he received the payment twice and thus earned the same as a foreman. Similarly, a doctor was paid 1 khar of wheat, but Jac Janssen believes that this was a supplement to the regular craftsman's wage that he also received. Emmer wheat was ground on an arrangement of stones known as a saddle quern. Stone-ground flour contained fragments of stone and grains of sand, which, according to the skeletal remains found in the village graves, were harmful to teeth. The flour was used to make bread and cakes. Although yeast was known at the time, bread was generally unleavened. It was baked either in an oven or in the embers of a fire. Many different types of bread were made. Some were formed by hand, others in moulds. Bread moulds are a common type of pottery found at Deir el-Medina. The ancient Egyptian language had many different words for bread and cakes. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) was used to make bread and beer, the two staples of the Egyptian diet. A workman received 1 1/2 khar of barley, and captains received 2 khar of barley per month. The basic ingredients for making beer were water and partially baked barley bread. Sieved together, the resulting mixture was left to ferment. It could be sweetened with honey to speed up the fermentation process. The final product could have been enhanced with various flavours, including fruit and herbs. Beer would have been a thick, soupy liquid, not always highly alcoholic, but nutritious, which is why it was given to children. Ostrakon Cairo 25608 The rations distributed for the second month of summer /a: The chief workman 2 sacks (barley) 5 ½ sacks (emmer) The scribe 2 5 ½ 17 men, each makes 1 ½ 4 that is 25 ½ + 68 2 young men, each amounts to ½ 1 ½ that is 1 + 3 The guardian 1 ½ 3 ¼ The maidservants /b 1 ½ 1 ¼ The doorkeeper ½ 1 The doctor /c ¼ 1 Total /d 32 ½ 84 ¾ (Translation from McDowell, 1999, p. 233) Notes: a/ Deliveries for the Left side only b/ This is the total for all slave women c/ The doctor was also a regular member of the crew, so this is likely an extra pay he received for healing d/ In reality, the total is: 34 ¼ and 88 ½ . To be considered: Was this scribe bad at maths? Or did he cheat on purpose and keep the rest of the grain for himself? (There are other instances where the total written is lower than the real sum.) Water Water was delivered daily to Deir el-Medina by the water carriers. It was measured in khar like grain. It was used for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene (laundry was done by "laundry men" in the river). Consumption: 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 khar per day per household (about 6 people) = 16-19 litres per day per person. To read more about the Great Pit click here . Ostracon DeM 60 (in the French Institute in Cairo) What Neferhotep said, in the 3rd winter month, day 22 (Note: this is the 19th Dynasty): Water deficit for the Left side: Prehotep 1 ½ sack Nebamente 1 ½ sack Khabekhent 1 sack The watchman ¼ sack The servant woman Saroy ½ sack Total of the Left side 4 ¾ sack Vegetables Beans and lentils, garlic, lettuce, leek and cucumber were among the most regular supplies of vegetables. Fruits Various fruits, such as dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates, melons, dom-palm nuts, more rarely apples, olives and almonds, were available to the inhabitants of Deir el-Medina. As well as being eaten raw, grapes were also used to make wine, a prestigious drink. After harvesting, the grapes were pressed, either in a cloth twisted between poles or by trampling them with the feet. The juice was poured into vats to ferment and then poured into earthenware jars to age. The shoulder of a jar was usually inscribed with details of the liquid inside, sometimes including the variety, vineyard, date, production manager or owner. Other alcoholic drinks were made from fermented dates, figs and pomegranates. Dates and figs are an excellent source of energy. They were used in many desserts. The villagers consumed fruit from a regular date palm and also from sycamore trees, which produced smaller and yellower dates. The Dom palm (Hyphaene thebaica) produces a fruit that looks like a small pomegranate. The nut inside contains sweet oil. Fish Fish was an important part of the villagers' diet. It was served as a substitute for more expensive meat. Fish were plentiful in the Nile. The most common species were mullet and tilapia. In Deir el-Medina, fishermen were employed to provide some of the villagers' rations. Each crew received about 250 kg of fish per month. The fish was salted for preservation, baked or roasted. Meat In Deir el-Medina, meat was not eaten every day. It was considered a treat. It was usually provided in the form of whole animals from the temple stockyards, or simply as individual portions. Oxen, hares, gazelles and other wild animals would have been eaten and used as a source of fat. Cows, goats, sheep and donkeys were kept to provide milk. Ducks and chickens were kept for eggs and meat. Honey Honey was made from both wild and domestic bees. It was used to turn bread into cakes and to sweeten beer. In Deir el-Medina, confectioners were employed to prepare honey cakes for the workmen. Seasonings Salt, cinnamon, celeriac herb, juniper berries, cumin. Ostrakon Cairo 25504 Year 8 of Merenptah. On day 20 of the second month of the inundation season someone came to the workmen to reward the crew. He gave them as reward: 9000 loaves of bread 20 menet-jars of sesame oil 9000 [...] fish 20 sacks of salt and 600 blocks of natron 6 sacks of malt [...] 3 sacks of beans [...] of kdy-beer (Translation from McDowell, 1999, p. 225) Ostrakon DeM 46 (in the French Institute in Cairo) Mentions the delivery of the following articles on a particular day: 11 oxen 9 more received a few days later, which are said to be shared out The next month there came 5 head of cattle: 4 for the crew and 1 for the three leaders, the chief workmen and the scribe That day also 280 fish received Ostrakon Stockholm MM 14126 (water delivery, probably for one day) [House of] Nebamente ¼ sack House of Amenakhte, son of Dgdy ½ sack House of Mose ½ sack House of Pashedu, son of Harmose ½ sack House of Karo ½ sack [House of Pashedu], son of Hehnakht ¼ sack [House of] … ¼ sack [House of] … son of Sibe ½ sack etc. Ostrakon P2027 (Náprstek Museum, Prague) "Said by Ta-khenty-shepse to her sister Iyt. In life, prosperity and health! Furthermore, to theeffect that: I will send this grain to you and you should have it ground for me and add emmer to itand make it into bread for me, because I am quarrelling with Mery-Ma'at. "(I will) throw you out,"so he says, when he quarrels with my mother enquiring after grain for bread. "Now, your motherdoes not do anything for you," so he says to me, saying "now, you have siblings, but they do not lookafter you!" So he says, arguing with me daily: "Now look, this is what you have done to me since Ihave lived here, although everyone supplies beer and fish daily (to) their people. In short, if yousay something, you will go down to the Black Land (the cultivation)". It is good if you attend". (Translation from McDowell, 1999, p. 42) Ostrakon Berlin 11238 The Mayor of West Thebes Ramose informs the two chief workmen and their crews that he has received a message from the Vizier Paser, saying: Please let the wages be delivered to the crew of the necropolis, consisting of: vegetables, fish, firewood, beer in small vessels, small cattle and milk. Let nothing of it be postponed, so that I would be in arrears with their wages. Be at it and pay heed! Ostrakon Gardiner 59 (in Oxford) Written by the workmen to a Vizier: To let our Lord (the Vizier) know: As regards the vegetables, oil, fish, our garments, our ointment and our grain rations, our Lord himself (Pharaoh) has provided us with these means of subsistence. And finally, try this... Place 1 large courgette and 2 large leeks, finely sliced, in a deep frying pan with a little olive oil. Cover the pan with a lid. Cook the vegetables gently for 15 minutes. In a bowl, mix the pieces of pitta bread with the pine nuts and soak them in the milk. Beat 3 eggs and add salt and herbs. When the vegetables are soft, fold in the bread and nuts. Put the mixture on a baking tray and pour the spiced eggs over it. Cook in the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes. Once browned on the surface, carefully remove from the tray and leave to cool. Cut into wedges. All ingredients would have been available in Pharaonic Egypt: vegetables were grown on a large scale (Nunn, 1996, p. 13) bread was a staple of Egyptian diet and was made from emmer-wheat (Shaw, 1995, p. 101) olive oil was pressed from olives eggs came from domestic hens and were also collected from wildfowl (Shaw, 1995, p. 102) milk would have come from cows, goats, sheep or asses (Nunn,1996, p.14-16) pine oil and nuts were used in cooking. Choose organically grown and produced ingredients to come as close as possible in the taste to the meal that could have been served by Wia to her Ramose in ancient Deir el-Medina. Bon Appétit! The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock Sources: 1. Berriedale-Johnson, Michelle: Food fit for Pharaohs : an ancient Egyptian cookbook London : British Museum Press, 1999. 2. Nunn, John F.: Ancient Egyptian medicine London : British Museum Press, 1996. 3. Shaw, Ian: British Museum dictionary of ancient Egypt London : British Museum Press, 1995. 4. Strouhal, Evzen: Life of the ancient Egyptians Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 1997. 5. McDowell, A.G.: Village life in ancient Egypt : laundry lists and love songs Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999. 6. http://www.webkatalog.sk/egypt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=32 (no longer exists) Further Bibliography Back to top

The temple complex area of Deir el-Medina is situated at the northern end of the village. It contains the remains of a number of temples dating from the New Kingdom to Ptolemaic times. The most prominent one is the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to goddesses Hathor and Maat. The temples of Deir el-Medina The temple area of Deir el-Medina is located at the northern end of the village. It contains the remains of a number of temples dating from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period. The most prominent is the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the goddesses Hathor and Maat. The building itself is small, but is one of the best preserved examples of a temple from this period. It stands within a mud-brick enclosure. Its complex includes the site of several New Kingdom temples and small chapels built by the inhabitants of Deir el-Medina. Below is the view of the northern side of the settlement. Within the mud-brick enclosure wall stands the small building of the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the goddesses Hathor and Maat (A). Across the valley from the Ptolemaic enclosure are the remains of the temple of Amun and the other members of the Theban triad (B). The site of the temple of Amenhotep I (C) . A B C The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock Sources: 1. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete temples of Ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson, 2000. 2. Weeks, K. R. : The treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Vercelli : White Star, 2005. 3. Bourguet, Pierre du: Le temple de Deir al-Medina Caire : Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, 2002. Back to top

Opposite Deir el-Medina's Hathor temple, across the valley to the east, remains of a temple to Amun and the other members of the Theban triad (Mut and Khonsu) stand. The temple was built by Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC). The temple of Amun of Ramesses II The temple complex is located on the northern side of the settlement of Deir el-Medina. The small building of the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor stands within the mud-brick wall. Opposite the Hathor temple, across the valley to the east, are the remains of a temple dedicated to Amun and the other members of the Theban triad (Mut and Khonsu) stand. The temple was built by Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC). My aim was to compare Ann Bomann's plans and detailed descriptions using her text published in 1991 pp. 47-48 with the remains of the cult buildings at Deir el-Medina in February 2007. The results together with the photographs can be found below. The temple consisted of a forecourt, outer and inner halls, pronaos and a sanctuary. A flight of steps led to the forecourt. Its floor was once paved. Beyond the forecourt were two limestone steps leading to the entrance of the outer hall. The Outer Hall was the forecourt of the temple during the first phase of construction. Later the temple was enlarged and it became an outer hall. It had benches on both the north and south walls. The hall had two central columns. The benches and the two columns have disappeared. The outer hall measured 6.40 by 5.20 m. In front of the doorway to the inner hall there were steps in the form of tiers that spanned the width of the outer hall. A limestone threshold, made up of two unequally cut slabs, has architrave grooves and a pivot hole on the right. There may have been a single-panelled door leading to the inner hall. A flight of six steps, running between balustrades with rounded tops, leads to the pronaos. At the top of the steps there were columns on either side. The sanctuary was divided into three parts. The dimensions of the shrines were 2 m long and 1.90 m wide. View of the flight of six steps looking west towards the entrance into the pronaos. The floor of the inner hall can be seen through the doorway. Standing in the pronaos and looking west, you can see the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple - its northern part - and on the right the chapels north of the enclosure wall. Standing in the pronaos and looking south-west you can see the enclosure wall of the main temple - its southern part - and on the left the western cemetery of Deir el-Medina. The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock 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. pp. 47-48 Further bibliography Back to top