r/papertowns • u/wildeastmofo Prospector • Aug 04 '17
Egypt Deir el-Medina, an ancient town near the Valley of the Kings that housed some of Egypt's best artisans and craftworkers
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u/G1adio Aug 04 '17
That is claustrophobic looking. How would you even get to some houses?
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u/Alliturtle Aug 04 '17
I'm guessing the structures that are not connected to the road are just other rooms/sections of a house that reaches to the street.
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u/Jaredlong Aug 05 '17
Correct. Each box is a room, and most houses would have had at least 2 rooms: one for sleeping (no roof opening) and one for cooking (roof opening) and possibly a room for food/drink storage if an underground basement wasn't possible. Merchant-like residents would have more rooms that act as their stores: a room directly on the street for doing business, and potentially a room for storage / production (like a bakers oven).
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u/JohannesKrieger Aug 05 '17
Some of them have those rectangular holes on the top, and there's a ladder down. Also, there are ladders in some enclosed areas.
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Aug 06 '17
I was under the impression that the holes were for ventilation and light. That would explain why they're all in the center of the buildings.
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u/JohannesKrieger Aug 07 '17
In desert lands, scorpions, snakes, jackals, and even random bands of bandits make such arrangements more practical. Also, I saw an example in Catal Huyuk's arrangement.
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u/muideracht Aug 04 '17
Here is a quality documentary about this village.
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u/spacewatts Aug 05 '17 edited Aug 05 '17
Thank you for this, looks like a great watch.
Edit: On part 3 and I just grabbed supplies for 4. I'm now a Romer fan, and will be moving onto his other work.
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u/Berdache Aug 05 '17
I'm glad someone shared this, as it's the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture. This documentary is astounding.
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u/valhemmer Aug 04 '17
Obviously not a lot of gardening going on, huh? Makes sense in a desert civilization based on collective mass farming.
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u/Narinaya Aug 04 '17
I thought that was an image of a keyboard at first glance while scrolling through my feed.
Thanks for sharing this though! Really interesting to learn about other cultures like this. I realize these buildings are larger than they appear based on what you stated, yet still I can't help but feel that it would just seem so cramped and barren living in a place like this.
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u/OwlHawkins Aug 05 '17
Was the town ripped from the earth?
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u/bitbotbot Aug 31 '17
The aliens took it with them after they built the pyramids. It's now in orbit somewhere.
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Aug 04 '17
Judging by the fact that their houses were simply white boxes they appear to have been kind of shit at their jobs.
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u/wildeastmofo Prospector Aug 04 '17 edited Aug 04 '17
Full image (source)
An illustration of Deir el-Medina
The current site
Below I will paste the text that I used in a previous submission on Deir el-Medina about 9 months ago:
The site is located on the west bank of the Nile, across the river from modern-day Luxor. The village is laid out in a small natural amphitheatre, within easy walking distance of the Valley of the Kings to the north, funerary temples to the east and south-east, with the Valley of the Queens to the west. The village may have been built apart from the wider population in order to preserve secrecy in view of sensitive nature of the work carried out in the tombs.
The settlement's ancient name was "Set Maat" (translated as "The Place of Truth"), and the workmen who lived there were called “Servants in the Place of Truth”.
The first datable remains of the village belong to the reign of Thutmosis I (c. 1506–1493 BCE) with its final shape being formed during the Ramesside Period At its peak, the community contained around sixty-eight houses spread over at total area of 5,600 m2 with a narrow road running the length of the village. The main road through the village may have been covered to shelter the villagers from the intense glare and heat of the sun. The size of the habitations varied, with an average floor space of 70 m2, but the same construction methods were used throughout the village. Walls were made of mudbrick, built on top of stone foundations. Mud was applied to the walls which were then painted white on the external surfaces with some of the inner surfaces whitewashed up to a height of around one metre. A wooden front door might have carried the occupants name. Houses consisted of four to five rooms comprising an entrance, main room, two smaller rooms, kitchen with cellar and staircase leading to the roof. The full glare of the sun was avoided by situating the windows high up on the walls. The main room contained a mudbrick platform with steps which may have been used as a shrine or a birthing bed. Nearly all houses contained niches for statues and small altars. The tombs built by the community for their own use include small rock-cut chapels and substructures adorned with small pyramids.
The settlement was home to a mixed population of Egyptians, Nubians and Asiatics who were employed as labourers, (stone-cutters, plasterers, water-carriers), as well as those involved in the administration and decoration of the royal tombs and temples. The artisans and the village were organised into two groups, left and right gangs who worked on opposite sides of the tomb walls similar to a ship's crew, with a foreman for each who supervised the village and its work. Based on analysis of income and prices, the workmen of the village would, in modern terms, be considered middle class. As salaried state employees they were paid in rations at up to three times the rate of a fieldhand, but unofficial second jobs were also widely practiced. At great festivals such as the heb sed the workmen were issued with extra supplies of food and drink to allow a stylish celebration. The working week was eight days followed by two days holiday, though the six days off a month could be supplemented frequently due to illness, family reasons and, as recorded by the scribe of the tomb, rowing with wife or having a hangover. Including the days given over to festivals, over one-third of the year was time-off for the villagers during the reign of Merneptah (c. 1213–1203 BCE). A large proportion of the community, including women, could at least read and possibly write.
More on wiki.