The Workmen's Village was created by the Pharaohs to house the workmen who excavated and decorated the tombs. Much is known about the individual workmen from their tombs which they dug and decorated in the nearby hillside. Also many workmen were literate and wrote notes and made drawings on ostraka (flakes of stone from the tomb excavations).

There were also official records, made by the state officials, of how often the workmen worked, what gangs were scheduled to work, and the assignment of housing and rations.

The Workmen's village  was enclosed, to protect the workmen and their families. In the hillside, above the village, the workmen built their own tombs, exchanging work with others. These tombs were not decorated in the same convention as the Pharaohs' tombs, and often show charming scenes of daily life. 

These same workmen also built the Tombs of the Nobles that are located in the hillsides nearby. They would have worked on the tomb of Sennenmut near Hatshepsut's Tempble, as well as his second tomb located with the other nobles.

The Tomb of Sennedjem is the most popular of the Workmen's tomb, but there are others that are open from time to time. There was a TV series on the Workmen called Ancient Lives, and the book by the same name by John Romer is sometimes found in used book stores or can probably be located on the internet.

The workmen and their families did not farm, there were designated farmers, fishers, laundry personnel and others to take care of their daily needs. They were paid in grain and other foods and services. They earned extra goods and services by making tombs and funerary objects for private individuals. They decorated their neighborhood tombs in vivid style.

The workmen's village existed for over 300 years. Many families lived there for generations, each providing skilled artists for the tombs of the Pharaoh's and their queens.

Click the thumbnails below for detail views around the Workmen's Village.