Deir-El_Medina_with_Archaeologcal_Evidence

The ancient village of Deir-El Medina is one of the most important and informative archaeological sites ever found. The artefacts from within the village and the surrounding tombs give a great insight into the lives of the royal workers who lived there, including information on the role of women, the villagers occupations, their housing and furniture and their leisure and education. Many historians, such as Lesko and Bellenger, have dedicated their time to researching the information provided by this magnificent site. The women of Deir el Medina played a significant part in the running of the village. They had several roles and were well respected. The main role of women in the village was to look after the family home. In this role they were entrusted to cook, weave, brew beer and trade. One source, a letter from a village scribe Butehamon to his dead wife shows that women were also given harder tasks such as bringing in the cattle and attending the fields. The Instructions of Ani, an Egyptian sage, warns husbands not to interfere with their wives running of the home--“Do not control your wife in her house, when you know she is efficient”. Another role played by women is described by Gail Bellenger (2006) who writes, “ Many women were involved in religious activities in the nearby temples and may have been priestesses”. Some of the ostraca found in the village were addressed to women, suggesting that they are able to read. On these ostraca husbands would often request tasks of them such as bringing them extra food or writings tools. For those women without a husband the role they played was that of an entertainer or perhaps prostitute. A sketch of an unidentified female on an ostracan shows her bending over backwards, naked from the waist up. This is vastly different from the married women depicted on tomb walls standing dutifully behind their husbands in long white robes. It is clear that women played varied roles within the village, but were vital to its running. The main occupations however were filled by the men. Many historians have studied the evidence in the village to gain an understanding of daily life, which of course included work. Some of the sources used to gain this information were the tombs built by the villagers and ostraca. Finished tombs showed evidence of writing, paintings, sculptures, statues, well dug tunnels and sketched plans on the walls. The walls of the tombs were covered in a smooth rendering. Ostraca found in the village have job titles, work rosters, maps and plans recorded upon them. From these two sources it can be discerned that workers were put into gangs which were split into left and right. Each gang had the same number of people who covered the various jobs needed to build the royal tombs. Common occupations included-stonemasons, carpenters, plasterers, draughtsmen, painters, sculptors, guardians and doorkeepers. Other occupations which were higher-up and better paid were the scribe, the foreman, the foreman’s deputy and the master draughtsman. All these workers would be rostered to nine-day shifts staying in makeshift shelters near the tomb. After their working period was up they could return to their homes in the village. The average house in Deir el Medin consisted of a front room, which lead into the main room containing statues of favourite deities, busts of ancestors and often a long couch against the wall. From there two were two smaller rooms, a bedroom and a kitchen. Some of the rooms had stir which lead down to cellars/storage rooms. Within these cellars several bodies of young children have been found suggesting they were used at times for infant burials. The house layout has been deduced from the archaeological remains of the village, where foundations of the houses have survived. The furniture in the houses varied, but in general the villagers possessed the same kind of items. An ostraca found in the village had written upon it an inventory of the household goods belonging to Pashed and his wife. Amongst the furniture items listed were three stools, a chair, two beds with mattresses of woven rush, eleven chests, three tables, storage vessels, a cosmetic chest, a basin set and a wooden toilet seat. Homes would have been quite cramped, with couples aiming to have many children whilst also being responsible for mother in-laws, younger sons and unmarried sisters. There was however several activities the villagers partook in to keep all members of the family entertained. One of the leisure activities enjoyed by the villagers of Deir el Medina was playing the Egyptian equivalent to board games. This pass time is shown in a scene from Sennedjem’s tomb and a board game named senet was found in the tomb of Kha. The villagers of Deir el Medina would also read stories as a leisure activity, many copies of the popular ones were found at the village. One of the greatest finds was a complete version of the ‘Tale of Sinuhe’. Another pass time is shown in the scene ‘Musicians from the Chapel of Kha’, depicting a series of Egyptian musicians playing varying instruments and a tomb scene shows Inkerkhau and his wife listening to a harpist. Members of the village enjoyed both playing and listening to music. The villagers of Deir el Medina were highly educated, with most men, women and children able to write. This is evident from the numerous ostraca found in the village, which had notes, letters and diary entries from numerous villagers-male and female. Acclaimed historian Lesko writes, “Deir el Medina was different from any other village of its time. The workmen who lived there with their families were better educated….than the vast majority of their contempories” The village of Deir El Medina is truly remarkable and offers one of the greatest insights into the daily life of ancient peoples ever found. The site is rich in primary evidence which helps build a clear picture and enables archaeologist to form a concise, accurate understanding of its peoples. Bibliography • J.Lawless, 1996 ‘Unlocking the Past’, International Thomson Publishing Company.pgs 204, 212,213 Secondary and primary information- the image from Inherkhau’s tomb, the ostraka recording the inventory of Pashed’s house, the board game found in Kha’s tomb and the copy of ‘Tale of Sinuhe’. These sources supported information on furniture and leisure of the Deir el Medina villagers. • T.Hurley, P.Medcalf, J.Rolph, 2008, ‘Antiquity 1-Third Edition’, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne Victoria. Pgs167, 168, 169 This text was valuable in providing secondary evidence on occupations and housing, as well as primary evidence on the layout of houses. • M.Demovic, M.Hayes, 2002, ‘Deir el Medina and Pompeii’, Pearson Education, South Melbourne Australia. Pgs.5, 14, 15, 16, 17 Several pieces of both primary and secondary evidence could be gleaned from this text. All information collected related to the role of women. Primary evidence sourced from this text include-sketch of an unidentifiable female on an ostracon (pg 5), letter from the scribe Butehamon to his wife (pg 16) and tomb scenes of married women supporting their husbands (pg 15). The secondary information was also valuable and discussed the role of a woman as a mother and wife. • Lesko, 1994, ‘Pharaoh’s Workers-The Villagers of Deir el Medina’, Cornell University Press, United States of America. Pg. 16