The village was inhabited by the community of workmen involved in the construction and decoration of the royal tombs in both the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Together with their wives and families the workmen occupied the houses of mud brick and stone for some 450 years. The village of Deir el-Medina Deir el-Medina is one of the best preserved ancient settlements in Egypt. It lies in a small secluded valley in the shadow of the Theban hills, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite modern-day Luxor in Upper Egypt. The village was inhabited by the community of workmen involved in the construction and decoration of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Together with their wives and families, the craftsmen occupied the neatly built mud-brick and stone houses for some 450 years during the New Kingdom period. The settlement was founded sometime early in the 18th dynasty, although it is uncertain under which king. Many bricks in the enclosure wall of the settlement were stamped with the name of Thutmosis I (c. 1524-1518 BC), who was the first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. However, the reverence paid to the previous king, Amenhotep I (1551-1524 BC) and his mother, Ahmose-Nefertari, suggests that they may have been instrumental in establishing the royal workforce at Deir el-Medina. We have little information about the earliest years of the community. Most of our knowledge of the settlement comes from the extensive evidence from the 19th and 20th dynasties, when the village almost doubled in size. The initial workforce was probably drawn from a number of places, possibly from other crews in the Theban area employed on temple building projects. The original town was surrounded by a thick mud-brick wall. Since the first phase of the settlement, dating from the beginning of the 18th dynasty, was destroyed by fire, little is known about its layout. After the Amarna period, under the restoration of King Horemheb (c. 1321-1293 B.C.), the village expanded. The damaged houses were restored and new ones built. During the 19th dynasty, Deir el-Medina covered an area of about 132 metres long and 50 metres wide. The houses within the enclosure wall were all built in blocks - there was no space between them and two adjacent houses shared a wall. Although the village was occupied for over four centuries, the evidence from the excavations shows that the general layout of the individual houses largely follows the pattern established in the first phase of the settlement's construction during the 18th dynasty. The ground level also remained unchanged, unlike other settlements where successive generations built on the remains of previous occupations. The village itself consisted of about 70 houses. They were divided by a main road. It ran from north to south with narrow houses on either side. Archaeological excavations suggest that this street was covered, making the village a solidly roofed community. Both the floors of the houses and the central street were found to be covered with layers of accumulated and well-trodden animal dung from goats, sheep and pigs. (Hobson, 1997, p. 117). In the workmen's village, property ownership was more tightly controlled - property tended to be passed from father to son, along with trades and professions. Restricted by the village boundary, the inhabitants were not able to expand their dwellings, as was often the case elsewhere. Some forty to fifty houses were later built outside the enclosure wall to the north, between or over earlier burials. The community reached its greatest numbers and prosperity towards the end of the reign of Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC). From the end of the reign of Ramesses XI (1098-1070 BC), the Theban area was in turmoil and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings began to be plundered. Both the archaeological and textual evidence suggest that not later than by the early 21st dynasty, around the years 17-18 of Ramesses XI, the community of workmen had left Deir el-Medina and moved within the walls of the nearby temple at Medinet Habu. Dhutmose, the scribe of the tomb, wrote to Hor, the deputy of the estate of Amun-Ra, on his visit to Thebes: "We heard that you have arrived and reached the town of Ne; may Amun give you a good welcome, may he do all good things for you. We dwell here in the Mansion and you know well our way of dwelling. But the boys of the tomb have gone. They dwell in Ne, while I dwell here alone with the scribe of the army, Penthonakhte". The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III (1182-1151 BC) at Medinet Habu as seen from the western slopes of the Theban Hills above Deir el-Medina Although the former inhabitants no longer lived in the village, they returned to visit the family tombs and to worship at their temple of Amenhotep I. The abandoned houses were used for storage until they decayed beyond their usefulness. It is not clear what happened to the villagers after this period, but the site of Deir el-Medina continued to be used extensively for both religious and funerary purposes until as late as the 8th century AD. In the 3rd century BC, Ptolemy IV Philopater built a temple dedicated to Hathor and Maat on the northern side of the former village, on the site of the earlier chapels and shrines and opposite the small temple of Amun . In the Christian era the temple was converted into a Coptic church. A monastery, or deir, was established there. Deir el-Medina thus survived its change in function from a primarily residential to a to a sacred and burial site. The ancient name of the settlement, "St-maat-Hr-imnty-Wast" , means "The Place of Truth, to the West of Thebes". The ancient villagers referred to their settlement as "pa-demi" , "the town". The modern Arabic name Deir el-Medina, meaning "The Convent of the Town", reflects the fact that, during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, the village's Ptolemaic temple was converted into a Christian church. "Wast" inscription from the walls of the Ptolemaic temple at Deir el-Medina The term "st-maat" , usually translated as "the Place of Truth", appears repeatedly in tomb inscriptions and on funerary objects such as stelae, coffins, shabtis, statues, pyramidions, door lintels and door jambs, as well as on a wide variety of small objects from the Theban necropolis, particularly from the region of Deir el-Medina. A smaller number of objects come from other Theban sites, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Ramesseum, Medinet Habu, Qurna and Dra abu al-Naga. A large group of titles, demoting employees "in the Place of Truth", has been identified in documents from the 19th and 20th dynasties. "st-maat" from an inscription on Bankes stela no. 11 Kingston Lacy The earliest example of the expression "st-maat" is in chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, which dates from the dynasties 13-17 (2nd Intermediate Period, ca. 1782-1633 B.C.). It reads "I have not committed any sins in the Place of Truth". The term can generally be applied to any place or locality that is sacred or holy. It was not only used within the city of Thebes. There are examples of the term being used in Memphis, Amarna or Abydos. The term cannot be translated with a single phrase because it does not have a single meaning. Depending on the context, "st-maat" can mean the afterlife, the cemetery, a tomb, the king's tomb, or even a workshop (in western Thebes). In Theban documents, "st-maat" was used with the addition "hr-imnty-Wast" , meaning "west of Weset" (Weset being the ancient Egyptian name for Thebes, now Luxor). Inscriptions are found in both hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts. Excavations at Deir el-Medina Throughout the 19th century, objects were looted from the Deir el-Medina area to supply the new antiquities market created by foreign travellers visiting the ancient sites. The first antiquities collected by the locals around the site of Deir el-Medina were sold to passing tourists in 1815. Among them was Sir William Bankes. The collection of pieces he bought at this early stage can be seen at his family home in Dorset, Kingston Lacy . Giovanni Belzoni collected antiquities for the British Consul General Henry Salt at the same time as his rival, the French Consul General Bernardino Drovetti, was bidding against him. Their collections were later divided mainly between the British Museum in London and the Museo Egizio in Turin. John Gardner Wilkinson (1797-1875), an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist, was the first to excavate the area. He opened several tombs in order to record the remarkable information they contained. Karl Richard Lepsius (1810-1884), a pioneering Prussian Egyptologist and linguist, also copied tomb scenes at Deir el-Medina. This inevitably drew attention to the potential riches, and illegal excavations followed (Hobson, 1991, pp. 116-118). In the 1850s an archive of papyri was excavated from the family tomb of Butehamun. It included letters from his father, the scribe Djutmose, to Butehamun and the correspondence of Piankh (c. 1074-1070 BC) sent from Nubia where he was with the army. Several other papyri, probably from the same source, came onto the market at the same time and were bought by European travellers. Eventually, the papyri and many other objects found their way into the storerooms of numerous museums to await future scholars. Most of these discoveries were made by local people. Huge amounts of information were lost as a result of their haphazard digging. In January 1886, a local resident of Qurna, Salam Abu Duji, and his 3 associates were given permission to excavate at Deir el-Medina. They focused their attention not on the settlement area, but on the adjacent terraced hill to the west - the site of the tombs. After the first week of excavation they found an undisturbed tomb - the tomb of Sennedjem (Burzacott,2017,17-18). The northern part of the valley was excavated down to the virgin soil. One of the most important finds was the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty foreman Kha and his wife Meryt. Between 1909 and 1912, Émile Baraize was employed by the Egyptian Antiquities Service to carry out work on the Ptolemaic temple. In 1912 he excavated a small chapel located in the north-western part of the enclosure wall of the main Ptolemaic temple (Bomann, 1991, 39). From 1905 to 1909, the first scientific excavation of the site was carried out by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli. In 1906 he excavated the chapel of Seti I (Bomann, 1991, 39). Many objects, including papyri and ostraca, greatly enriched the collections of the Museo Egizio in Turin and the Museo Archeologico in Florence. Turin had already acquired a large number of objects through the collector and dealer Bernardino Drovetti in the early 19th century. In 1913, Georg Möller, a German palaeographer, led an excavation at four sites within the settlement as part of the Berlin Museum's season at Deir el-Medina. as part of a large concession in western Thebes. Among his finds were 11 houses with their contents, 160 hieratic and 70 figurative ostraca, 10-13 tombs in the western cemetery and 4 infant graves in the eastern cemetery (McDowell, 1999, 25). The German concession at Deir el-Medina was transferred to the French after World War I. The French began work at Deir el-Medina in 1917. In 1922, the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, under the direction of Bernard Bruyère, began a project of systematic excavation of the entire site - village, cemetery and pit. The Great Pit , used in ancient times as a garbage dump, was Bruyère's most rewarding discovery. It contained thousands of literary and non-literary ostraca. Bruyère also discovered thirty-two religious structures (Bomann, 1991, 39). In 1925, Bruyère was looking for an epigrapher for his excavations. Jaroslav Černý, a Czech Egyptologist, became a member of the team. He was the world's leading authority on several aspects of the Ramesside period, particularly the hieratic script, a cursive writing system used on papyri and ostraka. Excavation Diaries of Bernard Bruyère from Deir el-Medina, 1922-1955, are now available on-line at http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives /bruyere/about In 1967, the IFAO gave Georges Castel permission to continue the excavations at Deir el-Medina. Although he continued the work of Baraize, Schiaparelli and Bruyère, he concentrated mainly on the excavations of Gurnet Mura'i to the north and south. Excavations by the French mission continue to this day (Brooker, 2009, 8). Domonique Valbelle and Charles Bonnet have reexamined the site to better understand the phases of construction. A worldwide group of scholars continues to study a wide range of topics relating to all aspects of Deir el-Medina. The research group, entitled "Workers' Huts in the Theban Mountains" , began work at the site of the workers' huts in 2008. They will work for four field seasons of three months each. The IFAO Excavations at Deir el-Medina, Cédric Gobeil's thorough examination of the archives of the Institut français d'archéologie orientale (IFAO), published on Oxford Handbooks online, details the history of the archaeological excavations and other field activities conducted by the Institute at the site of Deir el-Medina since the early 20th century. A free PDF version is available at http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.001.0001/oxfordhb- 9780199935413-e-32?rskey=vK0AHG&result=1 All the photos accompanying the "History of excavation" come from the area in the southeast corner of the main Ptolemaic temple enclosure. The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock Aerial view of Deir el-Medina This wonderful photo of Deir el-Medina was taken by Warwick Barnard of Sydney, Australia, during his balloon flight over the Theban West Bank in the early hours of 17 January 2007. Little has changed since then. The aerial view is an ideal tool for understanding the layout of the site from east to west, where the sacred mountain of al-Qurn rises. Please use the legend below as a guide and the links for more detailed information and closer views of individual parts of the settlement. Photography © Warwick Barnard 2007 A - The settlement B - The Ptolemaic temple of Hathor and Ma'at C - The Western necropolis D - The Eastern necropolis E - The great pit F - The chapel of Hathor of Seti I G - The temple of Amenhotep I H - The temple of Amun of Ramesses II I - The French dig house J - Towards the rock shrine of Ptah and Meretseger K - Sennedjem's house L - The ancient path to the Valley of the Kings and to the stone huts at the top of the cliffs M - Modern car park N - The tourist rest house & bookstall Western necropolis tombs: TT1 - Sennedjem's tomb TT2 - Khabekhenet's tomb TT3 - Pashedu's tomb TT5 - Neferabu's tomb TT8 - Kha's tomb TT212 - Ramose TT218-220 TT290 - Irynefer TT291 - Nakhtmin and Nu's tomb TT338 - May TT1159 - Sennefer's tomb Sources: 1.Reeves, Nicholas: The complete Valley of the Kings : tombs and treasure of Egypt's greatest pharaohs. London : Thames and Hudson, 1996. 2.David, A. Rosalie: The pyramid builders of ancient Egypt : a modern investigation of Pharaoh's workforce. London : Routledge, 1986. 3. Černý, Jaroslav: Egypt from the death of Ramesses III to the end of the 21st dynasty. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1965. 4. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el-Medina / edited by Leonard H. Lesko Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1994. 5. Clayton, Peter A.: Chronicles of the Pharaohs : the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 1994. 6. James, T.G.H.: Pharaoh's people : scenes from life in Imperial Egypt New York : Tauris Parke, 2003. 7. Strudwick, Nigel and Helen: Thebes in Egypt : a guide to the tombs and temples of ancient Luxor London : British Museum Press, 1999. 8. Montserrat, Dominic and Meskell, Lynn: Mortuary archaeology and religious landscape at Graeco- Roman Deir el-Medina. IN: JEA 83, p. 179-197. 9. Romer, John: Ancient lives : the story of the Pharaoh's tombmakers London : Phoenix, 1984. 10. McDowell, A.G.: Village life in ancient Egypt : laundry lists and love songs Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999. 11. Černý, Jaroslav: A community of workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period Cairo : Institut Francais d'archeologie Orientale du Caire, 1973. 12. 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. 13. 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. 14. Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.) Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. 15. 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. 16. Hobson, Christine: Exploring the world of the pharaohs London : Thames and Hudson, 1990. 17. Burzacott, Jeff: The Tomb of Sennedjem discovered IN : Nile Magazine, no. 11, December 2017 - January 2018, pp. 17-21. 18. http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.001.0001/oxfordhb- 9780199935413-e-32?rskey=vK0AHG&result=1 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. Ta-Nedjem's funerary linen auctioned in Paris On 5 May 2015 an ancient Egyptian painted funerary linen was exhibited in Paris. The rare textile was presented by the auction house PIASA (www.piasa.fr ) and was auctioned on Thursday, 18 June, 2015 at 3pm as part of a sale of Old Master Paintings, Furniture & Artefacts. The canvas was on display at PIASA, 118 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris on Monday 15 June from 10 am to 7 pm, Tuesday 16 June from 10 am to 7 pm, Wednesday 17 June from 10 am to 7 pm and Thursday 18 June from 10 am to 12 noon. Funerary canvas of Ta-Nedjem Most likely from Deir el-Medina New Kingdom, end of the 18th dynasty Painted linen Height: 29 cm Length: 21 cm © PIASA Dating from the New Kingdom and more specifically from the end of the 18th dynasty (c. 1,400-1,300 BC), the funerary painting is executed on a polychrome linen cloth, commonly used for mummy bandages and shrouds. It is said to have been discovered by Bernard Bruyère during his excavations at Deir el-Medina with the French Institute. It seems to have been acquired by Lucien Lépine in Qurna before 1926. In the same year, it came into the possession of Paul Mallon (1884-1975), a Parisian antiquarian. A handwritten contemporary card with the image and details of the cloth could be viewed at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/41227380/Documents/PIASA-18-June-15-Paul-Mallon.pdf - the link is no longer available online. A year later, it became part of the collection of Madame Arthur Sachs. Loviton Jeanne (1903-1996) acquired it in 1939 and it has remained in the family until today. 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 and a usekh necklace around his neck. 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 are read from top to bottom, starting with the one on the right: 1st column: wdn xt nbt nfrt wabt = Offering everything beautiful and pure 2nd column: n kA n tA-nDm mAa xrw = for the Ka of Ta-Nedjem, true of voice Images painted on funerary textiles always show the deceased seated in front of an offering table. In some cases, the deceased is accompanied by an official. The only burial cloth found in situ was the one in tomb 1159 of Sennefer. A large painted white linen cloth covered Sennefer's coffin. It contained a painted scene of Sennefer seated in front of an offering table. The inscription reads: "Osiris, Servant in the Place of Truth, Sennefer". Photography © kairoinfo4u This painted piece of cloth is part of a small corpus of funerary canvases, of which only twenty-two known surviving examples were listed by Khaled el-Enany (BIFAO 110, see bibliography below). Most of these are in major international museums. Three of them share similarities with Ta-Nedjem Square in the way the body of the seated person is painted, so much so that it has been suggested that the same artist may have executed all 4. The other three come from the Louvre, Paris (Linen Square of the Scribe Khonson, late 18th-early 19th dynasty, Inv. N847), the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Linen, late 18th-early 19th dynasty, Inv. 1981.657) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Linen of Hori, late 18th-early 19th dynasty, Inv. 44.2.3). Ta-Nedjem is not one of the well-known figures from Deir el-Medina. Although Bernard Bruyère's dig diaries (http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/ ) contain the name of Ta-Nedjem preceded by an "f", suggesting that the name belonged to a female, the linen is not mentioned or drawn by Bruyère. Ta-Nedjem is an attested New Kingdom female name, but this does not seem to correspond to the image of the seated man. Ta-Nedjem's Linen is published by Annie Gasse of the National Centre for Scientific Research, as this new work challenges the various published dates for the number of pieces that make up this corpus. Provenance of the object: - Former collection of Lucien Lépine, acquired before 1926 Qurna. - Paul Mallon (1884-1975), antiquarian, Paris, acquired in 1926. - Former collection of Madame Arthur Sachs, acquired in 1927. - Former collection of Jeanne Loviton (1903-1996), acquired in 1939. - Remained in the family The Ta-Nedjem linen fetched 374,000 euros ($426,000) at auction in Paris on Thursday 18 June. The winning bid was made by telephone and the identity of the buyer was not disclosed. Bidding started at 50,000 euros and was over in a matter of minutes, organisers said. www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3129705/Rare-ancient-Egyptian-shroud-goes-hammer-Paris.html Sources: 1. K. el-Enany, “Un carré de lin peint au musée de l’Agriculture du Caire (inv. 893)” dans BIFAO 110, Le Caire, 2010, pp. 35-45. 2. Y. Volokhine, L’art du contour, catalogue d’exposition, Paris, 2013, p. 227, n° 80. Mummies & magic. The funerary arts of ancient Egypt, catalogue d’exposition, Boston, 1988, p. 135, n° 71. 3. W. C. Hayes, The scepter of Egypt, New York, 1959, p. 320, fig. 202. Centenaire de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, catalogue d’exposition, Le Caire, 1981, pp. 52-53, n° 38. Web sites accessed during May 11-17, 2015: http://www.piasa.fr/sites/default/files/upload/actualites/fichiers/PIASA_Le_carre_de_Ta-nedjem_18_juin_2015_0.pdf http://english.jschina.com.cn/20728/201505/t2147590.shtml June 18th 2015: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3129705/Rare-ancient-Egyptian-shroud-goes-hammer-Paris.html Further bibliography Back to top

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

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 Ancient Egyptian gallery at the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery features over 600 objects. It covers "Belief", "Life", "Death" and "Afterlife". The mummy and the coffin of Horemkenesi, who lived at Deir el-Medina, arrived from Luxor in 1905. Ägyptischen Museums der Universität Leipzig, Germany The Ancient Egyptian gallery features over 600 objects. It covers "Belief", the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, including their views of creation, their gods and their rituals. "Life" - the social structure in ancient Egypt, childhood and a variety of different jobs from Pharaoh to farm labourer. "Death" - funerary belief, preparation of the body for mummification, coffin symbolism and tombs. And "Afterlife" - the ancient Egyptians' beliefs about what happened after death, and the need for grave goods, servants, food offerings, and possessions. https://www.gko.uni-leipzig.de/aegyptisches-museum/ The collections search page: http://museums.bristol.gov.uk/ During the 1890s archaeologists from the Egypt Exploration Fund (nowadays Egypt Exploration Society) were excavating the area at Deir el-Bahri, a complex located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the modern city of Luxor. At the time, archaeological finds not reserved for the national collection in Cairo, could be shared among the donors of funding for the excavations (namely museums and universities). The Bristol Museum sponsored the EEF and as a result received regular donations of finds. In 1905 the mummy of Horemkenesi in his coffin arrived from Luxor (KS2 resource,2003). The coffin was found in the pit-tomb of Mentuhotep II's queen Sadeh (Booth,2003,247), who lived nearly 1,000 years before Horemkenesi who became a secondary burial in her tomb within Mentuhotep's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The tomb had laid undisturbed for 3 millennia. Horemkenesi lived during the turbulent times of the 20th and the 21st dynasties, around 1070 BC, in the period now called the Third Intermediate Period (Booth,2006,243). He either lived at Deir el-Medina or within the enclosure of Medinet Habu. His main job was that of an overseer of workmen at the Valley of the Kings. He also worked as a scribe at Deir el-Medina as he held a title "Scribe of the task in the Horizon of Eternity" (Booth,2006,243). Horemkenesi acted as a part time wab priest at the temples of Karnak and Medinet Habu. A rock inscription informs us that his father Huysheri also held the title of wab priest at Medinet Habu, suggesting the title might have been hereditary (Booth,2006,244). During Horemkenesi's early years the boy must have attended classes and was trained as a scribe. The lessons were held either at Deir el-Medina, where the school for the children of necropolis workmen was run, or at the nearby Ramesseum. Once the settlement of Deir el-Medina was abandoned, he would have been educated at the Temple of Medinet Habu (Janssen,2007,64). His career started during the reign of Ramesses XI (1098-1070 BC) and continued until at least year 20 of high priest Pinedjem I (1070-1032 BC) (Booth,2003,244). His main duties were inspecting tombs for damage, repairing the robbed ones and organising non-royal burials. His name can be found in several rock graffiti around the Valley of the Kings. His signature indicated which tombs he inspected. His name can be seen for example near the Seti II tomb. It was noticed in 1981 that Horemkenesi's mummy started to deteriorate and the decision was taken to unwrap the mummy to find information about Horemkenesi's physical characteristics and his health and also about the way the body was mummified (KS2 resource,2003). The mummy of Horemkenesi revealed a short, plump man, who was between 55 and 60 years of age at the time of his death. He suffered from arthritis in his shoulders and in his back, which must have caused him painful stiffness. The brain, which is normally removed, was left within the skull cavity intact. On the other hand his heart, which used to be left in the corpse, is missing in Horemkenesi's body. His ear lobes had large holes and several of his teeth were worn away down to the gum because the food contained sand (KS2 resource,2003). The mummy was buried in a 3-piece coffin, which was in fashion at the time. It is made of wood and is covered by a thin layer of painted plaster. Images of gods are depicted inside and out and prayers are written to protect the dead person and to help him on his journey to the Afterlife. The design of the coffin is a standard one, it was not made especially for Horemkenesi, but his name and titles were written into the spaces left empty within the text. The panoramas below were created by Robert Gibson from Sydney, Australia. 14 photographs I took in the gallery were rendered by him to produce these 3 wonderful images. Horemkenesi's mummy was covered by a colourful painted mummy board. On the floor of the bottom case is a figure of Osiris in the form of a djed pillar. Horemkenesi's mummy was covered by a colourful painted mummy board. The burial consisted only of the mummy within the coffin, over which garlands of plaited rush leaves were draped, but no grave goods belonging to Horemkenesi was found in the tomb. No amulets were found inside the linen wrappings, but feathers and small pieces of plant material were found inside his bandages. The canopic jars were also missing. A pair of leather sandals that were too small for his feet was found in the tomb (KS2,2003). To view the museum's records of the coffin, follow the links below: http://museums.bristol.gov.uk/details.php?irn=79677 http://museums.bristol.gov.uk/details.php?irn=79579 http://museums.bristol.gov.uk/details.php?irn=79678 To view the museum's records for the mummy group and the coffins, follow the link to the Search the Museum Collection at http://museums.bristol.gov.uk/list.php?keyword=horemkenesi&start=1 There are 585 individually numbered objects in the catalogue as all the items found within the coffins were kept and given a unique catalogue number. The elaborate list helps us to understand the wide scale of ingredients that were involved in the embalming process. All the coffins and remains of skin tissue from within the mummy wrappings are listed together with materials used during Horemkenesi's mummification process - natron used to dry the body, saw dust, straw and plant fibres to pack the body cavities to provide support, resins, minerals, charcoal and even beetles and larvae. As the methods of the artificial preservation of bodies in ancient Egypt changed and evolved over a long period of time, this list together with the medical report from 1981 provide better understanding of the process Horemkenesi's body was involved in. I would like to express my thanks to Sue Giles, the Senior Collections Officer-World Cultures, Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives, who granted me permission to use the photographs on this page and to Amber Druce, Curator-World Cultures, Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives, for her helpful comments. Photography © Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives Photographs by Lenka Peacock Text was compiled using the resources below Sources: 1. Wilkinson, R. H. : The complete gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson, 2003. 2. Clayton, Peter A.: Chronicles of the Pharaohs : the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt London : Thames & Hudson, 1994. https://www.gko.uni-leipzig.de/aegyptisches-museum/ Further bibliography Back to top

The owner of the tomb 3 at Deir el-Medina was Pashedu, who lived in the settlement during the reigns of Sety I and Ramesses II. He had the title "Servant in the Place of Truth on the West of Thebes". Pashedu's tomb no. 3 at Deir el-Medina The owner of the tomb 3 at Deir el-Medina was Pashedu, who lived in the settlement during the reigns of Sety I and Ramesses II. He had the title "Servant in the Place of Truth on the West of Thebes". He may also have been a "foreman" if he is to be identified with the person named in an inscription translated by Kitchen (Kitchen, 1993, p. 270). He was a stonemason responsible for the cutting of the corridors, chambers and pillared halls of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Pashedu was the son of Menna and Lady Huy. He and his wife, called Nedjem-Behdet, had five sons and daughters. Pashedu's son, Menna, was undoubtedly named after his grandfather. From the inscriptions in the tombs, it appears that Kaha was also Pashedu's son (Davies, 1999, p. 166). TT3 was discovered in 1834 by conscripts from the Egyptian army. The Scottish artist Robert Hay visited the tomb shortly afterwards and recorded its decorated walls (Weeks, 2005, p. 464). At the bottom of the entrance stairs is the entrance to the first chamber, behind which is the second chamber. A short vaulted passage leads to the third, innermost chamber. The walls of the passage are painted on both sides with jackals of Anubis lying on top of large white shrines with cavetto cornices. The god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris is depicted in the form of a falcon in the vaulted area above the doorway. His elaborately painted wings stretch out below a wedjat eye. The falcon is seated in a boat. There are 15 lines of hieroglyphic inscription. Pashedu's sons, Menna and Kaha, kneel beside the boat and worship the depicted gods (not shown). All photography on the page © 2009 Mutnedjmet Pashedu and his wife sit in front of an offering table in a small boat on the Abydos pilgrimage. One of their daughters sits at Nedjem-Behdet's feet. Both are dressed in elegant pleated linen robes and have long, elaborately coiffed hair. The first deity is the falcon-headed Ra-Harakhty, followed by a human-headed Atum The back wall of the innermost chamber depicts the god Osiris-Onnophris, ruler of the realm of the dead, on his throne with Mountain of the West behind him. Osiris wears a nemes-crown and holds a flail and a sceptre. In front of him a seated god presents a bowl with burning cones. The inscription written in columns of black hieroglyphs contains the spell "light a lamp for Osiris". (Málek,2003,222). Behind the throne of Osiris a small kneeling figure of Pashedu is depicted. The picture on the left shows two corner scenes. The scene on the right was taken from the left front wall of the burial chamber. It is one of the best known scenes from Thebes. Pashedu is kneeling and bowing under a dom-palm at the edge of a pond. Around him are 21 columns of text. 17 are from chapter 62 of the Book of the Dead, the Chapter for Drinking Water in God's Domain. The left scene is taken from the right wall of the burial chamber. Pashedu and his daughter Nebnefret are standing in front of four male deities and a djed-pillar. Atum is followed by the scarab-headed Khepri (the morning form of the sun god), and the god Ptah. Behind Ptah stands the djed -pillar. On the vaulted ceiling of the innermost burial chamber there are sixteen deities, eight on each side. On the right side are Osiris, Isis and Nut. ...Nun and Nepthys... On the right side, there are: Hathor, Ra-Harakhty, Neith... ...Serqet, Anubis and Wepwawet ...Geb, Anubis and Wepwawet To view Mutnedjmet's flickr photostream follow the link to https://www.flickr.com/photos/26330013@N08/albums The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Mutnedjmet 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=27 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. 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 2. Weeks, Kent R.: The treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings Cercelli : White Star Publishers, 2005 3. Kitchen, K. A.: Ramesside inscriptions : translated and annotated notes and comments I. Oxford : Blackwell, 1993. 4. Málek, Jaromír: Egypt : 4000 years of art London : Phaidon Press, 2003. 5. slideshow https://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/artisans/pached3/e_pached3_01.htm Further bibliography Back to top

Plan of a typical Deir el-Medina house and panoramas of the village The houses at Deir el-Medina Although the houses in the village varied in size they followed a fairly standard plan. The first room very often contained a rectangular mud brick structure, partially or completely enclosed except for an opening on the long side, which was accessed by three steps. Bruyère found remains of these structures in twenty-eight of the sixty-eight houses he knew of on the site. The function of the bed-like structures is still debated by Egyptologists. It has been suggested that they could have served as a birthing or nursing bed, or as a bed altar for ancestor worship. Fragments of several paintings from the outer walls of some of these structures deal specifically with themes of female life: labour, childbirth and daily care. It is thought that the villagers may have worshipped deities or prayed to a recently deceased relative in these bed-altars. It has recently been suggested (Brooker, 2009, pp. 44-53) that the front rooms at Deir el-Medina were used as gardens. This suggestion is supported by the existence of several clay models of houses from other sites in Egypt which show enclosed courtyards within the frontal space. Archaeological evidence suggests that gardens were created at lower levels than the houses. The majority of the floors in the front rooms of the Deir el-Medina houses were at lower levels - some 40 to 50 cm below street level. Textual evidence for the front room and its purpose is limited, but both instructions and love poetry suggest the importance of a private garden to an ancient Egyptian. The second room was the main living room and was higher than the first. The flat roof of the room was supported by one or two wooden pillars resting on stone bases. Archaeological evidence suggests that the second room had a sacred significance. Votive stelae have been found near shallow rectangular and vaulted wall niches that occur in several houses in the first and second rooms. Limestone offering tables were found near them. False door dedications were found in the second rooms of most of the houses. All this evidence seems to indicate that the second room was used, among other things, to communicate with and gain protection from those outside the bounds of ordinary mortal existence. Some houses had a small chamber off the second room, which seems to have been used both as a general storeroom and as a place to sleep. Beyond this room was a kitchen and a staircase to the roof, which was partly open to allow smoke to escape. Two cellars complete the dwellings. Plan of a typical Deir el-Medina house. Drawn by Lenka Peacock, after a drawing of Mary Winkes, in Pharaoh's workers. View of the east side of the settlement as seen towards west Take a stroll along the eastern (lower) side of the settlement of Deir el-Medina, viewing each house from east towards west. The main cemetery can be seen at the top of the photographs in the distance. Photography © Andy Peacock 2007 The origins of this breathtakingly beautiful panorama can be traced back to the walk over the Theban hills taken by Warwick Barnard from Sydney, Australia, in January 2007. The magnificent panorama was rendered by him from his six contiguous images and then processed into a reduced size image. The original was over 25 MB. For more quality photography visit http://www.pbase.com/galleria_rusticana/aegyptica Photography © Warwick Barnard 2007 The four panoramas below were created in December 2009 using photographic material obtained at Deir el-Medina at the beginning of that month. The author is Alan Vowles, UK North-south view of the settlement East-west view of the settlement and the Western tombs Photography © Alan Vowles 2009 The text on this page was written by Lenka Peacock Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock, Warwick Barnard, Alan Vowles Sources: 1. James, T.G.H.: Pharaoh's people : scenes from life in Imperial Egypt New York : Tauris Parke, 2003. 2. David, A. Rosalie: The pyramid builders of ancient Egypt : a modern investigation of Pharaoh's workforce. London : Routledge, 1986. 3. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el-Medina / edited by Leonard H. Lesko Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1994. 4. 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. 5. http://www.pbase.com/galleria_rusticana/aegyptica For more quality photography visit http://www.pbase.com/galleria_rusticana/aegyptica Further bibliography Back to top