Ruins of the village

Deir el-Madinah (Arabic: دير المدينة‎) is an ancient Egyptian village which was home to the artisans who built the temples and tombs ordered by the Pharaohs and other dignitaries in the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom period (18th to 20th dynasties)

The settlement's ancient name, Set Maat her imenty Waset, means "The place of Ma'at (or, by extension, "place of truth")^[1] to the west of Thebes. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods The Valley of the Kings ( Arabic: وادي الملوك Wadi Biban el-Muluk; "Gates of the King" is a Valley in Egypt where for The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in Ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and Maat or Mayet, thought to have been pronounced as *Muʔʕat (Muh-aht was the Ancient Egyptian concept of Truth, balance order— Law Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile ( " The village is indeed located on the west bank of the Nile, across the river from modern-day Luxor. The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River Luxor (in Arabic: الأقصر al-Uqṣur) is a city in Upper (southern Egypt and the capital of Luxor The Arabic name Deir el-Madinah (and variants on the transcription) means "the convent of the town": this is because at the time of the Muslim conquest of Egypt, the village's Ptolemaic temple had been converted into a Christian church. At the commencement of the Muslim conquest of Egypt Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family One legend maintains that the inhabitants of the village worshiped Amenhotep I as the founder and protector of the artisans' guild. Amenhotep I (sometimes read as Amenophis I and meaning " Amun is satisfied" was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt

The people of Deir el-Madinah were responsible for most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens and the temples of the Theban necropolis. The Valley of the Kings ( Arabic: وادي الملوك Wadi Biban el-Muluk; "Gates of the King" is a Valley in Egypt where for The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim (بيبان الحريم Biban el-Sultanat (بيبان السلطانات and Wadi el-Melikat A necropolis (plural necropoleis or necropoles) is a large Cemetery or burial place (from Greek nekropolis "city of the dead" The workmen of the village often referred to themselves as "servants in the place of truth". The tombs they constructed included the famous tombs of Tutankhamen and Nefertari, and the memorial temples of Ramses II, Amenhotep III, and Hatshepsut – all of which, in their various states of preservation, can still be seen today. Nefertari ( Nefertari Merytmut or Mut-Nefertari) (c 1290–1255 BC was the Great Royal Wife (or principal wife of Ramesses the Great. Amenhotep III (sometimes read as Amenophis III meaning Amun is Satisfied was the ninth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. Hatshepsut (or Hatchepsut, hætˈʃɛpsʊt meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies, was the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of

The patron of the village was the cobra-goddess Meretseger, who was said to dwell atop the pyramid-shaped mountain al-Qurn that stands between Deir al-Madinah and the Valley of the Kings. Cobras ( are venomous Snakes of the family Elapidae, of several genera, but particularly Naja. In Egyptian mythology, Meretseger (also spelt Mertseger) meaning she who loves silence, was a Cobra - Goddess, who was originally Located on the West bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes, modern Luxor, the peak of Al-Qurn, el-Qorn (القرن is the modern name for the Other deities worshiped in the settlement included Maat, goddess of justice and balance, Thoth, the protector of scribes and painters, and Chnum, the ram-headed god of potters and sculptors. Maat or Mayet, thought to have been pronounced as *Muʔʕat (Muh-aht was the Ancient Egyptian concept of Truth, balance order— Law For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation. In Egyptian mythology, Khnum (also spelled Chnum, Knum, or Khnemu) was one of the earliest Egyptian deities originally the god of the source

At its peak, Deir el-Madinah covered 5600 m² and contained some 70 artisans' homes with another 40 or so outside the perimeter wall. The village itself was built around one central avenue, with occasional alleyways leading off. Most of the houses were single-storey, mud brick constructions, although stone was used towards the end of the village's existence. The village was abandoned, and then ransacked, during the Third Intermediate Period that followed the death of Ramses XI at the end of the 20th dynasty. Ramesses XI (also written Ramses and Rameses) reigned from 1107 BC to 1078 BC or 1077 BC and was the tenth and final king of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt

Ra slays Apep (tomb scene in Deir el-Madinah)

The archaeological site was first excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli (1905-1909) and Bernard Bruyère (1917-1947). Ernesto Schiaparelli ( July 12, 1856 &ndash 1928 was an Italian Egyptologist, born in Occhieppo Inferiore (Biella who found Queen Nefertari Its importance largely lies in the large number of ostraca found there, which provided revolutionary insights into matters of everyday society and economics in the New Kingdom. An ostracon ( Greek: ostrakon, plural ostraka) is a piece of Pottery (or stone usually broken off from a Vase or other The site is also noteworthy for a number of tombs belonging to local artists that have been excavated, the sumptuous decorations of which indicate that the village residents placed no less importance on their own afterlife than on that of their employers.

External links

• Deir el-Medina

• Deir el-Medina database (document archive)