Dear Old Medina

Question 1

When was it built?

Answer 1

18th dynasty, over 3000 years ago

Question 2

What is the ancient name and what does it mean?

Answer 2

Set maat, place of truth

Question 3

What does Deur El Medina mean?

Answer 3

Monastry of the town

Question 4

Where was it located?

Answer 4

West bank of the nile, directky across from Thebes

Question 5

How did the village grow?

Answer 5

Grew from about 12 houses lining a desert track, which kater became the main street. It was established in military lines

Question 6

Who excavated the vilkage from 1862? And what did he do?

Answer 6

Gaston Maspero. He discovered ostraca and the unrobbed tomb of Kha and Meryt

Question 7

Ostraca

Answer 7

Bits of broken pottery and limestone used as writing material

Question 8

How many people?

Answer 8

600

Question 9

Ladder if medina workers

Answer 9

Foreman
Scribe
Guardians
Door keepers
Servants in place of truth
Servants of tomb
Children
Female slaves

Question 10

Literary sources discovered?

Answer 10

1500 literary works.
Book of the dead
Sinuhe the Egyption (story of a runaway)
The Satire of the Trades (describing crafts)
Instructions of Ptahotep and Ani (entailing how people should behave)
plus hymns and erotic writings

Question 11

Currency?

Answer 11

Deben. 1 goat = 3 deben, sandals always = 1 or 2 deben

Question 12

Khet

Answer 12

Body

Question 13

Ka

Answer 13

Soul

Question 14

Akh

Answer 14

Spirit

Question 15

Shadow

Answer 15

A blacked out figure

Question 16

Name

Answer 16

On tomb, helped spirit come home

Question 17

Ba

Answer 17

Second spirit came into existence after death

Question 18

Types of tomb

Answer 18

Freestanding, rock cut, pyramidion

Question 19

Amulets

Answer 19

Eye of horace, ank, scarab beetle, gade

Question 20

Magic and curses

Answer 20

Against the dead and the living

Question 21

Why is deir el medina such an important site archaelogically?

Answer 21

Provides a wealth of information about the lives of everyday workers. Thousands of well preserved ostraka have also been discovered

Question 22

When was the first village established? Who was the pharoah?

Answer 22

Amenhotep 1 in 1545-1525BC

Question 23

Describe the layout of the village ?

Answer 23

By its final stage, 70 houses stood within the village walls and 50 outside. The layout was sorrounded by a wall

Question 24

Identify the layout of a typical house

Answer 24

A typical working family’s house contained a room with a boxed bed, reception room, cellar, storeroom, bedroom stairs to the roof , kitchen, and walls

Question 25

What sort of furniture has survived ?

Answer 25

Well made and beautifully crafted. Stools, chairs, tables, reed mats, wooden beds and oil lamps

Question 26

How did the work gangs operate?

Answer 26

The work gangs operated in left and right gangs working in shifts. The gangs included stonemasons and sculptors

Question 27

What was the book of the dead?

Answer 27

Was the single most important funerary book to enable the deceased to enter the afterlife. It provided instructions

Question 28

What did the cult of the pharoah involve?

Answer 28

Total worship of the pharoah. Involved praise and prayer

Question 29

What do the contents of a tomb reveal about the life of a worker?

Answer 29

It reveals the implements they used and what they needed or valued in daily life

Question 30

Shuty

Answer 30

Tax collector

Question 31

Ostraka

Answer 31

Writing surface limestone flakes