Deir el-Medina

Deir el-Medina

Deir el-Medina, a village of ancient Egyptian artisans involved  to  the  New Kingdom (1550–1070  B.C.E.) necropolis  at  Thebes. It  is  based  on  the  west  bank between the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu. The site was named  Set-Ma’at when  grounded  by  Tuthmosis I (r.1504–1492 B.C.E.)  near  the  special  eleventh  dynasty (2040–1991  B.C.E.)  necropolis.  The  artisans  were  formerly known as “the Servitors of the Place of Truth,” the laborers of the tombs in the Valleys ofthe kings and queens. Some  workers  were  valued  for  their  skills  and imaginative artistry. In some reads these workers were called “the Servants of the Place of Truth.”.

From the Tomb of Merit in Deir el-Medina

The homes of these artisans had various rooms, with the workers of higher rank basking vestibules and several architectural adornments. They also raised elaborate funerary  sites  for  themselves  and  their  families,  caricatures  of  the  royal  tombs  upon  which  they  hard throughout their entire lives. Little pyramids were fashioned out of bricks, and the secret walls were covered with stunning paintings and reliefs. The site has provided scholars  with  inscribed  papyri,  ostraka,  and  elaborate depictions of common life.

King Amenhotep I (r. 1525–1504  B.C.E.)  was  an  early supporter  of  the  region.  A  temple  put up  on  the  site  by Amenhotep III (r.  1359–1353  B.C.E.)  was  refurbished  by Ptolemy IV Philopator (r. 186–164, 163–145 B.C.E.). Seti I (1306–1290  B.C.E.) put up temples to Hathor and Amun on the site. Tahrqa (r. 690–664 B.C.E.) also built an Osirian chapel in that location.