Deir el-Medina

Deir el -Medina (Arabic دير المدينة, DMG Dair al - Madina, the City Palace ') is called the ruins of a workers' settlement of ancient Thebes in Egypt.

History

The workers' housing estate in the south of the West Bank was founded under the reign of King Amenhotep I and his mother Ahmose Nefertari -. Here lived the workers and artists who created the tombs in the Valley of the Kings in ancient times, with their families.

The workers' settlement was inhabited around 1520 to 1069 BC, with a break under Akhenaten 1350-1334 BC archaeologists and Egyptologists It provides information about the daily life of ordinary people. Here lived and worked, among others, the criminal Paneb the scribe Ramose, his successor and adoptive son Kenherchepechef and his wife Naunakhte.

Construction details

North of the workers' settlement there is a small temple of the goddess Hathor from the Ptolemaic period, which was long used by the Coptic monks. Hence the modern Arabic name Deir el -Medina ( German " monastery of the city ").

Many foundations smaller temple of the goddess Hathor located below or next to the Great temple of Hathor, among other things, of Seti I. and. Amenhotep I. East of the temple of Hathor was one day a much smaller sanctuary of Amun, time of origin around the time of Ramses II.

About 200 meters northeast of the temple is a shaft, from which over 5,000 ostraca were recovered, including private letters, bills, drafts and court records. This discovery has greatly contributed to research on the prevailing conditions of the residents and to the overall understanding of the lives of people in ancient Egypt.

Located next to the settlement are located ( west and east ), the cemeteries of the workers. The tombs date from the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties. The walls are decorated with paintings that come up in the quality of its execution to the royal tombs of the time and thereby project beyond the standard at that time of the Nobles Tombs Westthebens.

Research

There have been uncovered 68 house foundations. For special celebrity reached the grave of Sennedjem, which was discovered on February 2, 1886 by Gaston Maspero. Today it bears the name of TT1.

225629
de