| 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). |
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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.
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