Nothing can be farther from truth (except perhaps that aliens in space ships pressed a button and built the Giza complex, and other great monuments.) The image of hundreds, perhaps thousands of toiling slaves, whipped by overseers, seems seared into the modern consciousness, and "everyone" is convinced that the despots who ruled Egypt with iron greedy fists must have built their wealth and glory on the bleeding backs of this tortured labor. The more work being done on these villages sounds a clear message that, while they worked hard, these villages were made up of mostly free and willing citizens, doing their part to ensure the afterlife of their King The site has yielded a wealth of textual material providing information about the way these people lived, their marriages, inheritances, divorces, how they sought legal redress, advice from the gods. In addition to papyri, large flakes of limestone were used by scribes as note pads. Thousands of these ostraca were f...

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 fully enclosed except for an opening on the long side,  which was approached by three steps. Bruyère found remains of these structures in twenty eight of the sixty eight houses known to him at the site.  The function of the bed-like constructions is still being discussed by Egyptologists today. It has been suggested that  they could have functioned as a birthing or nursing bed, or a bed-altar to an ancestor cult. Fragments from several paintings  from the exterior panels of some of these structures specifically involve themes in female life: labour, childbirth and daily grooming. It is assumed that the villagers  might have worshipped figures of deities or supplicated a recently deceased relative within these bed-altars. Recently it has been suggested (Brooker, 2009, p. 44-53...

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 settlement was founded sometime early in the 18th dynasty, although by which king remains uncertain. Many bricks in the settlement's enclosure wall were stamped with the name of Thutmosis I (around 1524-1518 BC), who was the 1st pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. However the reverence given to the previous king, Amenhotep I (1551-1524 BC) and his mother, Ahmose-Nefertari, indicates that they might have been instrumental in setting up the royal workforce at Deir el-Medina.     We have little information on the earliest years of the community. Most of our knowledge about the  settlement is drawn from the extensive evidence dating to the 19th and 20th dynasties, when the village almost doubled in size.The first workforce was proba...

Egypt has a glorious past, its people descended from a civilization that was once the most intellectually and technologically advanced in the world. Because we all sometimes need a reminder, here’s a quick round-up of successful inventions that were created by Egyptians before any other civilization. Eye makeup (eyeshadow and eyeliner) – 4000 BCE Egyptians were among the first to popularize the use of eye makeup. Some of the earliest makeup palettes date back to circa 5000 BCE, the most common colors being green (made out of malachite, a green carbonate of copper) and black (made out of galena, an ore of lead). System of writing (pictographs) – 3200 BCE Composed of around 500 symbols, Egyptian hieroglyphics date back to 3200 BCE and represented the first writing system based on illustrated representations of words or sounds. With the exception of Mesopotamian cuneiform, which emerged independently around 3200 BCE, the innovation of writing in Egypt predated other civilizatio...

Society in Egypt has changed quite a bit since its ancient predecessors thousands of years ago. From popular misconceptions to bizarre practices, you won’t believe these facts we found about ancient Egyptians: 1. Ancient Egyptian children often had shaved heads and were naked in public until puberty. The hot weather and lack of AC made clothes non-essential. 2. Both men and women wore makeup in ancient Egypt. Eye shadow was extremely popular, especially in green and black. Originally, make-up was thought of as sunscreen and it was believed to possess healing powers. Although many scientists today believe the lead-based paints fought off eye infections, they may have also resulted in lead poisoning . 3. Experts believe that Cleopatra wasn’t ethnically Egyptian – she was actually Macedonian Greek. Although she was born in Egypt, her lineage traces back to Ptolemy I, the Macedonian leader left in charge of Alexandria after Alexander the Great’s conquest. 4. Ramses the ...

Rekhmire was seated at the end of the wall, facing left. This has been completely effaced and the area where he was covered with red paint; we recognize the faint trace at his feet as a goose of Amun . Above him is a short text informs us that Rekhmire is "in session to  judge between the poor and the rich in the same way,   Rekhmire stood in a large room whose columns are inscribed halfway up with the name of Thutmose - Menkheperre "beloved of Maat" . The artist has separated the people admitted in the courtroom from those outside      Before the vizier are four mats each supporting ten elongated objects. One thinks, of course, of the 40 leather rolls bearing the text of the laws or these are the  batons of authority which serve the assessors.   The Grandees of the Southern Ten are placed before him on the right and left, with as many scribes, 40 people in total. If the petitioners are treated with respect by the ushers in and out of the ro...

  a large inscription of 45 lines, damaged by numerous pieces falling off: which gives the autobiography of the Vizier It was written in hieroglyphics from a hieratic original. His Duties Order of Precedence When a person speaks to another, it must be done according to their social level (literally: when one (person) that addresses another (person) it must be (done) with every man according to his rank. Reports about warehouses He will report the sealing of warehouses and their opening at the right time. He will report on everything that enters into or leaves the territory of the Residence, when they come in and they go out, Protocol for interviews with the King Judgment of a dishonest magistrate Do not allow any magistrate to have power over a decision (made) in his office. If a complaint happens against one of the judges who is in his office, he (the Vizier) will ensure that this leads the judge into the courtroom. It is the Vizier who must punish (him) according to his c...

  monkeys, a basket of skins (top right), two bundles of reed arrows, a bag with? Ten peculiar pieces of wood, products of the nebes tree: ten arches made of its wood, three skins filled with a fruit paste and two baskets containing cakes made with those same fruits.   Register 2 ( more nebes tree fruit, a basket of "skins", pigeons in cages Register 3  : this time there are boxes full of textiles, gold and silver rings    (these are white,  et des colliers comportant des perles d'or. and collars having gold beads Register 4   : the stack of objects is replaced by a balance with which precious metals are being weighed. A scribe carefully notes the results. The scene is very damaged. Register 5 : is in very poor condition. Davies describes bags, reed mats, cordage and ten millstone wheels made of hard red stone.    Note that there are no fish, goats or pigs shown (not food of the elite) and that the only birds represented are pigeons ...

The tax collectors are placed to the right of the registers, separated from the payers by stacks of contributions