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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

11

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).

15

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

19

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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