Post on 24-Jan-2023
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The interaction between the living and the dead throughportable objects
Deir el-Medina: A Case Study
This essay will explore the ways in which the people of Deir
el-Medina in New Kingdom Egypt (1550-1069BC) interacted with
their dead (Nicholson and Shaw 2008: 350). It will consider
the worship of dead relatives as ancestors by reviewing the
more official portable cult objects; specifically busts and
stele, along with the unofficial custom of writing letters to
the dead (Harrington 2013: 63). By combining the available
evidence from excavations, artefact analysis and literary
evidence, this study aims to create a general picture of how
the people of the settlement coped with bereavement. Moreover,
it will explore how the people of Deir el Medina viewed the
dead in terms of their status in society and the powers which
they were thought to possess.
1. Background
Religious beliefs, like our awareness of death, are one of the
features which define human beings and separate them from
other mammals and indeed other animals, with which they share
their environment (Parker Pearson 2003: 146). Until the
availability of technology to assist in advanced scientific
exploration of the world around them, religion was the way in
which humans gave explanation to existence, as well as giving
events in life and death, a more comprehensible and more
organised meaning. According to Insoll (2004: 5), less formal
religion, or ‘spirituality’, seems to have “…been important to
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humankind since at least the upper paleolithic”. Given that
this implies that spiritual and religious influences have been
a part of human cultures for at least 30,000 years, it is
therefore a significant influence factor on human activities
and so heavily impacts upon funerary and mortuary practices
(Parker Pearson 2003: 148). This was no less so in New Kingdom
Egypt, and much religious activity was focussed on the
constant cycle of rebirth and regeneration, as well as the
desirability of eternal life and the transcendence of death
(Meskell 2002: 179). Thus, the way in which the living members
of a society treat and interact with their dead, is closely
related to religious belief and practice. These practices have
many variants, depending on for example; regional traditions,
mythology and resources (Parker Pearson 2003: 142-144).
Factors such as these can be seen to hold influences over the
practices developed at Deir el-Medina, the nature of which
will be explored in subsequent chapters.
1.1 Deir el-Medina
Deir el-Medina was the workmen’s village associated with the
Valley of the Kings (Bierbrier 1982: 9). It is thought to have
been founded in the 18th Dynasty by the Pharaoh Thutmose I
(1504-1492BC) and was occupied until the late Ramesside Period
at the end of the 20th Dynasty (1186-1069BC) (Nicholson and
Shaw 2008: 93). Excavations by Ernesto Schiaparelli (1905-
1909), and later by Bernard Bruyére (1922-1951), have produced
a diversity of extremely well preserved artefacts and
buildings (Bierbrier 1982: 141). As a result, Deir el-Medina
represents a unique insight into the workings of a village in
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the New Kingdom. This is also enhanced by the high levels of
literacy in the village, with written records surviving
alongside the material culture; giving details of previously
lesser known aspects of Egyptian life such as wages and work
hours (Bierbrier 1982: 9).
However, there are several
limitations in regards to using
Deir el-Medina as a case study.
Firstly, the problems associated
with interpretation. Although
archaeological materials; namely
artefacts, images and text; all
survive to some extent, as Taylor
(2001: 7) so eloquently states,
these objects “…all too
frequently allude to concepts and
narratives that were known to the
members of that society, but are
not explained for the benefit of
a disinterested observer from a
quite different culture 3000
years later”. Interpretation must
therefore take into account disparities between culture,
geographical location and times, in order to arrive at the
most probable explanation as to what is being observed.
Secondly, the population of Deir el-Medina was exceptionally
educated. Whereas the literacy rate for Egypt in the New
Kingdom remained around 1%, in Deir el-Medina the statistics
3 Map of Egypt showing Deir
el-Medina. Source: McDowell (1999: 2)
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suggest that the population was, in the range of 5% - 7.5%
literate, with an estimated 40% with basic literacy skills
(Baines and Eyre 2007: 94; McDowell 1999: 4). Therefore, the
methods of communication between the community and their dead
extended to letters and inscriptions which were not
exclusively intended to be understood by the elite and the
gods; but a high proportion of village people as well
(McDowell 1999: 4).
Finally, it must be taken into account that the village of
Deir el-Medina was suddenly or completely deserted due to
reasons such as an impending threat or disease (Weiss 2009:
194). Instead, the dismantlement and migration away from the
village would have taken place as part of a “…slow unorganised
abandonment process” (Weiss 2009: 194). As such, the household
assemblages, along with items that were the focus of this cult
activity, such as ancestor busts, are extremely unlikely to
appear in their original positions or contexts (Weiss 2009:
194). Moreover, given the nature of abandonment, only a
fraction of the material that would have existed in the
village is represented in the archaeological record at all.
When any relocation occurs, valuable and sentimental objects
are seldom left behind, and in the case of Deir el-Medina’s
slow abandonment, it will have been possible for these objects
to have been packed up and travel with their owners to their
new place of settlement (Weiss 2009: 194).
However, perhaps the most significant limitation is the
quality of excavations carried out in the 19th century. The
inadequate recording and overall poor standards of excavation
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by Schiaparelli (1905-1909) and Bruyére (1922-1951) have
resulted in a great deal of valuable information being lost
(Bierbrier 1982: 141). Therefore, although the archaeology of
Deir el-Medina is diverse and plentiful, it is highly likely
that it does not represent the whole expanse of what was found
and in what context (Weiss 2009: 195).
2. Living with the Dead
This chapter will consider how Egyptian society in the New
Kingdom viewed the dead. It will also explore their
relationship and connection to the deceased and in what way
these beliefs and practices manifested themselves.
Egyptian beliefs surrounding the composition of a person’s
soul are an essential factor when considering their cultural
relationship with the dead. In the Ancient Egyptian belief
system, the soul was not viewed as a singular entity, as is
conceptualised in modern monotheistic religions (Christianity,
Islam and Judaism), but rather a collection of different
‘essences’, ‘entities’ and ‘functions’ (Taylor 2001: 15). This
division of the soul, which the Egyptians termed Kheperu or
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‘manifestations’, meant that individuals could experience
immortality in many different ways (Taylor 2001: 16). The
individual parts are multi-faceted, each representing a highly
complex concept, some with similar and sometimes contradictory
functions (Taylor 2001: 16). The essential components of which
were the Ba – personality, Ka – essence / spirit, Akh –
‘living’ or active spirit, Ib – heart, Ren – name and Sheut –
Shadow (Taylor 2001: 16-24; Teeter 2011: 2). When the living
were communicating with the dead, it was the Akh that was
thought to be the entity, or part of the soul, that was being
addressed (Teeter 2011: 149).
Despite high mortality rates amongst children, and adult life
expectancy not exceeding 40 during the dynastic period, death
was not at all trivialised and was still recognised in Deir
el-Medina as an upsetting and disruptive time for the living
(Meskell 2002: 13). Literary evidence from the village, in the
form of several ostraca regarding worker’s absences from work,
indicate that individuals were permitted to take 17 days off
from work after the death of a relative (Harrington 2013: 33).
The first part of this ‘bereavement time’ was for the
preparation of the corpse; libating, embalming and mourning
(Harrington 2013: 33). This was followed by, a further 9 days
allotted for offerings and rituals after burial (Harrington
2013: 33).
From studying the language used in communication with the
dead; which will be discussed in detail in Chapters 3 and 4;
it is clear that the dead were not simply worshipped as
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ancestors in their own right, but also served a crucial role
in the relationship between mortals and deities (Teeter 2011:
148). For example, in a letter from the widower Butehamun to
his dead wife Ikhtay from Deir el-Medina, he implores her to
help him. In this case, Butehamun’s letter does not specify
his difficulty, nor the help that he hopes to receive
(McDowell 1999: 106). This was not unusual and it is a
reasonable assumption that the matter was known to both
individuals, either before Ikhtay’s death, or through previous
correspondence post-mortem (Teeter 2011: 155). However, it is
apparent that Butehamun is not asking for the direct help of
his dead wife, but instead asks her to “tell the Lords of
Eternity, let (me) petition for my brother”; effectively
asking her to bring his predicament to the attention of the
gods (Meskell 2002: 181).
Through this exchange it becomes clear that the dead were
considered to be intermediaries between the land of the
living, or the ‘material world’, and the realm of the gods and
‘other world’ (Meskell 2002: 181). However, like the land of
the living, the land of the dead contained threats to an
individual’s existence (Davies and Friedman 1998: 179). To
combat this, a number of techniques were used including;
amulets, spells and offerings from the living (Harrington
2013: 24). This exchange essentially creates a “…two-way
dependency between the living and the dead” (Harrington 2013:
30). Upon inspection, this relationship appears to be a
fragile and somewhat unstable one; with the ancestors, like
the gods, needing rituals and offerings to maintain their
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favour (McDowell 1999: 104). It is this required reciprocity
between the living and the dead which appears to have been the
basis for the beliefs and associated practices which will be
described in Chapters 3 and 4.
3. Presence of the Ancestors
Communing and interacting with the dead were important aspects
of Egyptian religion; particularly in the domestic cult. The
houses at Deir el-Medina reflect the omnipresence of the
divine through the inclusion of permanent shrines and niches,
which in turn facilitated the portable objects; specifically
busts and stele, which are the focus of this study (Meskell
2002: 114). However, such objects were also found in non-
domestic settings such as tombs and chapels; an indication
that in some cases that the living were actively seeking out
the dead (Exell 2008: 1).
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In ancient Egyptian culture, the concept of an ‘ancestor’,
referred to members of society who represent the more recently
deceased; individuals to which those still living were
directly related to by blood or by law (Teeter 2011:149). This
means that the ancestor cult was intended to remember and
honour those individuals who had died within living memory,
not those from several generations past (Harrington 2013: 31).
It is apparent; through the mortuary processes of mourning,
preparing the dead and the interring of the deceased in a
grave or tomb; that the Egyptians saw death as a rite of
passage (Parker Pearson 2003: 22). As such, there were complex
emotions and processes observed when dealing with the dead.
Although the deceased had passed from the land of the living
to the land of the dead, there was not an immediate or
complete severance between the two communities (Parker Pearson
2003: 22). Likewise, Ritner (2008: 183) suggests that the
recently dead were “… still considered potentially active – or
at least interested – in family life”. In short, interaction
with the recently dead was not left at the tomb upon burial,
but instead was maintained on many levels in domestic
settings.
As previously discussed, the domestic cult in Egypt was
comprised of the household deities and the ancestors of the
family (Ritner 2008: 183). The worship and interaction of the
people of Deir el-Medina with these domestic gods along with
the ancestors can be detected archaeologically (Meskell 2002:
111). While the architecture of the houses at Deir el-Medina
demonstrates this in the form of niches and shrines, the
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material culture is much more diverse, with objects such as
ancestor busts and stele being the most abundant.
3.1 Stele
Nicholson and Shaw (2008: 313) describe stele as “slabs of
wood or stone baring inscriptions, reliefs or paintings,
usually of funerary, votive, commemorative or liminal nature”.
In this instance, the focus will be in the assemblages of
ancestral or mortuary stele which have been recovered from
excavations at Deir el-Medina. It is through these objects,
that the role of the ancestors in this domestic setting can
begin to be understood (Andreu et. al. 1997: 150). Stele
provide both imagery and inscriptions, making them a highly
useful and valuable grouping of objects to study.
The Stele of Panakht (Figure 2), like many other examples,
describes the deceased individual; in this case Panakht, to be
the “excellent spirit of Ra” (Ritner 2008: 183). Therefore,
this individual has attained a new status in death; that of a
new and divine entity, and capable of acting as an
intermediary between the family and the gods (Andreu et. al.
1997: 150).
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As these stele were comprised of images and inscriptions which
equated to a representation of the deceased; they may have
acted as an interface between the living and the dead.
Therefore it is through these that prayers could be directed
and offerings to the dead could be given (Harrington 2013:
59).
Stele have not been recovered from singular contexts within
the village, but instead are found in three main locations:
houses, community chapels and tombs (Harrington 2013: 59-60).
Therefore, we can determine that the roles of these artefacts
seem to have been somewhat diverse, providing a link between
domestic and mortuary cult activity (Harrington 2013: 60). A
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Figure 2. Painted LimestoneStele of Panakht. 1240BC - 1186BC.Provenance: Deir el-Medina.Source: Andreu et. al. (1997: 150)
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further cult object which fulfilled this function was the
ancestor bust (Teeter 2011:150).
3.2 Ancestor Busts
Ancestor busts; or as they are sometimes referred to
‘anthropoid busts’; as a feature of the ancestor cult, can be
broadly dated to belonging to the New Kingdom (Ecell 2008: 1).
According to Meskell (2005: 120), these objects were
representations of the “…potent dead, who were capable of
interceding benevolently or malevolently in human affairs”. To
an extent, the practice of creating these busts demonstrates a
belief that family ties cannot be severed by death, and can
endure whilst benefitting both sides (Meskell 2005: 193). For
the living, it offers the chance to gain access to diving
intervention without having to consult the priesthood, with
the ancestor acting as an intermediary between the two worlds
(Harrington 2013: 49). The dead also benefitted from the
‘transactions’ involved in ancestor worship; their cult was
maintained and the Ba and Akh would receive offerings of food
and libations (Harrington 2005: 79).
It is generally agreed (Meskell 2002: 114; Exell 2008: 2;
Teeter 2011: 152) that ancestor busts would have been located
in a domestic context; most likely as a part of the household
shrine. However, like stele, these objects have been found in
a variety of contexts, including storerooms, public shrines
and tombs, which may be due to the manner in which they were
‘lost’ to the archaeological record (Friedman 1994: 115).
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The busts themselves were commonly made of limestone; however
examples of other materials such as clay, granite, sandstone
and wood have been identified (Ecell 2008: 1). In form, they
were typically comprised of a head and the tops of the
shoulders set onto a base (Figures 3 and 4) (Ecell 2008: 1).
There were several variants in the way in which they were
decorated; some were painted while others were not, some bases
were decorated with wsh-collars1 and / or a lotus pendant and
some of the heads were covered with tripartite wigs (Exell
2008: 1; Harrington 2005: 74).
1 Wsh-collars, also known as wesekh or ‘broad collar’, were important pieces of funerary jewellery which were believed to protect the dead (Friedman 1994: 115). Taylor (2001: 201), comments that the magical functions of wesekh collars are described in detail in the Book of the Dead, along with spells detailing their correct placement on the body of the deceased.
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14
Figure 4: Large (26.2cm) limestone ancestor bust with wig. 18th – 19th Dynasty.Provenance: Deir el-Medina
Figure 3: Small (7.8cm) wooden ancestor bust without a wig. 18th Dynasty.Provenance: Deir el-MedinaSource: Exell (2008: 2)
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The importance of ancestor busts within the domestic cult is
further recognised through the inclusion of these objects on
stele (Bierbrier 1982: 95). This is in effect an idealised
view of ancestor worship, with the omnipresence of the
ancestors represented through their busts. Figure 5 features a
stele recovered from Deir el-Medina, now housed in gallery 62
of the British Museum (EA270) (Bierbrier 1982: 154; Trustees
of the British Museum).
However, the people of the village of Deir el-Medina did not
just communicate with their dead through the creation of these
portable objects and the presentation of offerings, they also
wrote letters to their dead relatives (Meskell 2002: 181).
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Figure 5: Limestone stele of a womankneeling before two ancestor busts.Provenance: Deir el-MedinaSource: British Museum [online]http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=120842&partId=1&object=20160&s
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4. Letters to the Dead
This chapter explores the phenomenon in Egypt of writing
letters to the dead, and how this practice manifested itself
in Deir el-Medina.
Literacy in Ancient Egypt was not regarded as a simple or a
humble skill, but rather as an art or even as a form of magic2.
Markot (2005: 169) asserts that in Egyptian society,
hierarchies were far more basic than in the Western world
today, and was formed of two ‘classes’ – the literate and the
non-literate. In contradiction to this, the people of Deir el-2 The Egyptians viewed magic as an accessible resource to be invoked for a variety of reasons including healing and restoration, prayers and the maintenance of maat or ‘balance’ (Nicholson and Shaw 2008: 187). Harrington (2013: 1-2) lists magic as a further constituent part of the dead, alongside those of the Ba, Ka, Akh and Swt. It is also suggested that the composition of several of the letters to the dead, that of a spiral scriptsin the interior of bowls, could have been interpreted as having ‘magical form’, and as such was not of this world, but belonged to that of the spirit realm (Harrington 2013: 36).
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Medina represent a much different ‘class’. Although a high
proportion of the population were literate, they did not
possess the material wealth that would have been available to
the true elite (Markot 2005: 171). In this way the general
population of the village could be considered to be an
intermediary or ‘middle class’ (Markot 2005: 171). The very
fact that individuals from a lower social ranking, then for
example officials or royalty, were literate meant that the
documents that they produced offer a unique view into
‘everyday’ practices performed by those of a lower class in
their own words.
The people of Deir el-Medina used their skills to engage in
one of Egypt’s more unusual forms of communication. The so-
called ‘letters to the dead’ were mainly written on pieces of
pottery known as ‘ostracon’, and in some cases on bowls and
other vessels (Figure 6); a few examples on papyri are also
known to have survived (Taylor 2001: 42; Teeter 2012: 154).
These letters formed a part of an irregular and unofficial
practice associated with the mortuary cult of the ancestors
(Harrington 2012: 34). The letters were produced in two ways;
written either by scribes on behalf of the deceased’s
relatives, or if they were literate, by the relatives
themselves (Meskell 2002: 181). These messages were addressed
to the recent dead, with the intention of enlisting the
assistance and intervention of the ancestors from the other
side (Teeter 2012: 153).
The writing of letters to the dead was not a new concept in
Egypt. Indeed much of the surviving material relating to this17
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phenomenon dates to the Old Kingdom (2686BC-2181BC) and Middle
Kingdom (2055BC-1650BC) (Taylor 2001: 43; Nicholson and Shaw
2008: 350). Andreu et. al. (1997: 74) comments that the
letters were usually written in Egyptian cursive hieratic
script, as opposed to hieroglyphic symbols, and appear to have
been written quickly due to the frequency of mistakes.
Taylor (2001: 43) and Meskell (2002: 181) both theorise that
these messages were written on vessels and bowls so that the
passing Ba would stop to consume the offering and thus take
notice of the message. However, it is equally likely that the
practice of writing on bowls and vessels simply served as a
practical solution to being able to provide an accompanying
offering in exchange for receiving the message and / or
carrying out the task or intervening as requested.
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The concept of the Letters to the Dead and the writing of them
is an extremely complex one. It essentially requires the
writer to evoke a form of ‘magic’ in order to have his or her
message made available to their deceased relative (Ritner
2008: 173). Similarly, it also requires the recipient or
‘ancestor’ to read the letter and act upon it; which in itself
may have required supernatural means had the deceased not been
literate in life.
In an example from Deir el-Medina, which features in McDowell
(1999:106), Meskell (2002: 181) and Teeter (2012: 154), a
widower named Butehamun writes to his dead wife (Ikhtay) on a
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Figure 6: Letter from a mother to her deceased son on a terracottabowl (Lourve E6134). Dynasty XI First Intermediate Period (2181BC –2055BC). Provenance: Upper Egypt. Source: Andreu et. al.(1997: 74)
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piece if limestone ostracon. In his message to her he
initially expresses his doubts as to whether she will receive
his message:
If one can hear me(in) the place where you are,Tell the Lords of Eternity,“Let (me) petition for my brother,”so that I may make […] in [their] hearts,whether they are great or small.It is you who will speak with a good speech in the necropolis.Indeed, I did not commit an abomination against youwhile you were on earth,and I hold to my behaviour.Swear to god in every manner,saying “What I have said will be done!”I will not oppose your will in any utterance until I reach you.[may you act] for me (in) every good manner,if one can hear.
The doubt evident through the tentative way in which the
letter was composed, completely contradicts the act and hope
displayed by the writing of the letter in the first place
(Meskell 2002: 181). As such, it can be derived that these
practices were not a formal feature of Egyptian religion, and
was a practice to be engaged in in times of personal crisis
(Harrington 2012: 34).
The letter from Butehamun is also unusual in that it is
primarily addressed to Ikhtay’s coffin, rather than to her Akh
(Teeter 2012: 155). In his opening statement of the letter,
Butehamun addresses the coffin thus:
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Oh you noble chest of Osiris,
the Singer of Amun,
Ikhtay who lies at rest beneath you,
hearken to me,
and transmit my message.
Say to her since you are near to her:
This initial involvement and recognition of the power and
function of the coffin complicates the concepts behind the
Letters to the Dead still further. Butehamun is addressing the
coffin of his dead wife to act as an intermediary between the
living and the dead - or perhaps the physical and the
metaphysical – asking that the coffin conveys a further
message so that his wife can intercede on his behalf in the
‘other world’.
As mentioned in Chapter 1, interpretation of the themes in the
letters written to the ancestors can be problematic as there
is a disparity between the perspectives and knowledge of
ancient and modern. Therefore, Butehamun’s letter may seem
unusual by modern standards, but it may have been a regular
practice to invoke a secondary powerful entity, such as the
coffin, to convey messages to the other side.
There is conflicting information relating to the study and
interpretation of the letters to the dead from Deir el-Medina.
While scholars such as Davies and Friedman (1998: 178), Taylor
(2001: 42) and Meskell (2002: 181) all indicate the presence
of a number of these documents found in the village; in each
case, only one example from Deir el-Medina has been used. This
has led Harrington (2013: 34) to conclude that the letter from21
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Butehamun is the only surviving letter to the dead from the
village, and this may well be the case. However, it is
extremely unlikely that the letter from Butehamun represents
the only letter to have been written to the dead in Deir el-
Medina. The circumstantial evidence from the levels of
literacy, shared religious culture with Thebes, and
demonstration of a strong ancestor cult in terms of the
presence of busts and stele; all suggest that the letters have
become lost within the archaeological record through human
error; misinterpretation and / or ‘lost’ in storage (Friedman
1994: 95).
5. Conclusion
Both the archaeological and literary evidence presented
throughout this essay indicate that the ancestors played a
crucial role in the everyday lives of the ancient Egyptians of
Deir el-Medina. In particular, the presence of portable cult
objects, primarily stele and ancestor busts, indicate that the
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dead were a recognised part of religious practice as well as
everyday life.
The contexts of busts and stele, found within houses, chapels
and tombs, show that there was an intricate and complex
relationship between the living and the dead. The dead were
present in domestic settings, suggesting that there may have
been daily rituals or prayers said to or for these recent
ancestors (Harrington 2013: 61). However, there was also the
more public presence of the dead in chapels and tombs, which
may indicate regular public offerings or festivals addressing
the dead’s continued influence and presence in society (Taylor
2001: 42).
Ancestor worship is also shown to be extended to rituals and
informal letters to the dead, which, in the case of
Butehamun’s letter, was left in the tomb of his dead wife
(Teeter 2012: 155). Moreover, this category of mortuary
archaeology conveys key information about Egyptian society and
also the Egyptian belief system. Letters to the dead, along
with portable mortuary artefacts, reveal detailed individual
and personal relationships with the dead, and their ongoing
roles in the lives of those left behind. However, the
phenomenon of writing letters to the dead in Ancient Egypt has
been disappointingly under researched; resulting in very few
modern publications about the finds and their significance.
Therefore, further research and study is needed to recover
‘lost’ letters, resulting in the development of a clearer
picture of the complex relationships between the living and
the dead in Deir el-Medina.23
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