Deir el Medina

in
Association with Q.E.A

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A fascinating insight into the everyday life of a working Egyptian. The village shows an old village built over the tombs that are scattered among the area. There are some very well presented paintings within the tombs of Inherkhaw and Sennedjen. These are really worth a visit and unfortunately they are often left unseen by many tourists.

Deir el Medina, West Bank, Luxor, Egypt

By

Dr John R Ward KT & PH Ma Maria Nilsson

The Sirius Project

&

Historical Preservation Society

 

Tucked beneath the Theban foothills lies the archaeological site better known as Deir el medina its name deriving for its use as a Coptic monastery after its demise as a place of worship for the dynastic cults. The only difference that this site has with relation to its other counterparts is that it was also home to the many hundreds of craftsmen who labored in the tombs of the pharaohs and the nobles. There has been a considerable amount of archaeological evidence recovered from this site over the years and is stoney floor is still releasing even more artifacts as various missions continue to excavate and restore at the site.

The sites location is perfect for the small town that prevailed upon it all those thousands of years ago, ideally situated for the craftsmen and laborers to make their way to the tombs each morning to carve yet more stone from the tombs they were excavating for their living God. There work was labor intensive, therefore a place to rest and recuperate was essential to be as close to the area of work as possible, thus, Deir el medina was born during the 18 th dynasty, and offered such a location.

Its tremendous pit that lies to the side of the Hathorian chapel which some scholars suggest was a massive watering hole is today filled with debris and the entire surface surrounding the pit is littered with the sherds of thousands of pots all of differing sizes and usages.

To walk the streets of this once bustling town conjures images of loin clothed Egyptians going about their daily lives with a motivation in the atmosphere to prepare the royal tomb and all its funerary ware. The production lines must have been considerable and the apprentices with their ever watchful eye on their masters skills so that they one day can also pass on the masters skills to their own apprentices would have been an impressive sight to see.

The foothills surrounding the town are full of tombs dedicated to various nobles and wealthy commoners alike, however what makes Deir el Medina so important as an archaeological site is the state of preservation of its tombs, their colours unlike that of many other tombs to be found elsewhere in Egypt are vibrant and still holding their luster after thousands of years have passed. The craftsmen that were to be buried within the tombs that litter the foothills above the village were most probably worked on by themselves ensuring that their legacy of craftsmanship lasted for an eternity and they succeeded too!!. The tomb of Kha the architect (T 8) so far has been the most significant due to fact that the actual burial chamber itself was found completely intact with all its funerary refinements still sitting in the same place they were placed almost 3300 years before. The artifacts that have been recovered from this tomb have given scholars an valuable insight into the everyday life of the craftsmen and their village life, other tombs in the area have also proved as fruitful and have surrendered a plethora of various food stuffs and everyday objects which have provided us with a host of information as to their standard of living.

Deir el Medina is also famous for its numerous temples/shrines, the remains of which date back to the reign of Amenophis I, however, we are confident given its secluded location and slightly elevated position at the base of the Theban foothills that there most probably has always been some kind of settlement in these parts.

The main temple which stands almost intact is the Ptolemaic Hathorian temple built during the reign of Ptolemy IV in the 3 rd century BC. Its quality of stone carving is exquisite and its reliefs as well, there are three sanctuaries located to the rear of the temple the central one being dedicated to that of Hathor, to the right of this the sanctuaries of Amun-Re-Osiris and the far left hosted by Amun-Sokar-Osiris. The tell tale signs of this temple being located in this vicinity probably lies in the relief in the Amun-Sokar-Osiris sanctuary being an Osiride judgment, more commonly found within tombs themselves the other being the dedications to Amenophis son of Hapu and Imhotep the great Egyptian architects whom were deified after their lifetimes. Their memory living on forever alongside the gods as immortals. The absence of a shrine to Ptah would suggest that the children of Israel had already departed Egypt by this time, as it is more than understood and acknowledged that Ptah was worshipped by them as the god of craftsmen.

The other temple remains are attributed to that of Amenophis I and Seti I. the inner courtyard of the Ptolemaic temple has many smaller vaulted shrines attributed to the Coptic era and therefore continuing the sanctity of the site as a place of worship and prayer.

We would surmise that the years following the demise of Thebes as a capital of the Egyptian empire and the transition of the Roman empire to that of a Christian empire would of seen a dramatic decline in the agriculture and systematic building that once took place in Thebes, these common place practices that had taken place throughout the history of Thebes would of considerably contributed to the overall height of the land laying to the sides of the river Nile. The annual inundation would still leave its annual deposit of silt washed down from Ethiopia and thus the land adjacent to the Nile would increase with each inundation. With this taking place on a yearly basis it would not take long for the waters to considerably reduce its inland flooding capability due to the increased elevation of the surrounding land. Thus the settlements would become ever closer to the Niles edge. This would suggest the reason for the lack of other settlements in the area close to the foothills due to the lack of clean and readily available water. Thankfully for us we now have the opportunity to excavate in these areas and reveal the earlier stages of the settlements without the damage that would have been inflicted had there been an ongoing habitation of the area.

So to conclude, Deir el Medina still has much to offer the Egyptologist and ancient historian alike both sharing in the wealth of knowledge to be found here.

 

Dr John Ward KT & PH Maria Nillson

*(Q.E.A would like to remind all of its guests and anyone considering visiting The Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Dayr Al Madina and The Nobles that we throughly discorage any flash photography within the tombs and please keep your visits within the tombs to a minimum. This is so that the tombs and there beautiful contents can be preserved and marvelled at by future generations. Q.E.A is sure that will also agree)