Deir El Media
Assessment Task 1- Case Studies
Deir-el Medina by Mike Ryan
1. Describe the site (200 Words): * -Who built the site * -When was it built * -How was it built * -What was the purpose of the site
Deir-El Medina is a one of the best preserved ancient settlements in Egypt. The settlement is situated in a small isolated valley surrounded by the Theban hills, on the west bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt. This village was the home to a community of workmen who constructed and decorated many of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. The village was constructed by rows of neatly constructed houses made with mud brick walls built on stone foundations. The walls were then lathered in mud, which were then painted white on the external surfaces, with some of the inner surfaces whitewashed up to a height of around 1m. The tombs constructed for the usage of the village people include small rock-cut chapels and substructures decorated with small pyramids. The location was carefully chosen as it was based in a valley which deflected much of the sunlight, the hills also blocked out the breeze and the site had a view of the verdant river valley. The earliest known evidence shows that the village was constructed around the beginning of the 18th Dynasty (1550-c 1292 BC). The village was abandoned between 1110-1080 BC due to a great threat of Libyan raids and the insecurity of civil war. 2. What role did scientific techniques play in the discovery of the site and its excavation
(350-400 words)
The first scientific excavation of the site was conducted between 1905-1909, by Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli.
Deir-el Medina by Mike Ryan
1. Describe the site (200 Words): * -Who built the site * -When was it built * -How was it built * -What was the purpose of the site
Deir-El Medina is a one of the best preserved ancient settlements in Egypt. The settlement is situated in a small isolated valley surrounded by the Theban hills, on the west bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt. This village was the home to a community of workmen who constructed and decorated many of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. The village was constructed by rows of neatly constructed houses made with mud brick walls built on stone foundations. The walls were then lathered in mud, which were then painted white on the external surfaces, with some of the inner surfaces whitewashed up to a height of around 1m. The tombs constructed for the usage of the village people include small rock-cut chapels and substructures decorated with small pyramids. The location was carefully chosen as it was based in a valley which deflected much of the sunlight, the hills also blocked out the breeze and the site had a view of the verdant river valley. The earliest known evidence shows that the village was constructed around the beginning of the 18th Dynasty (1550-c 1292 BC). The village was abandoned between 1110-1080 BC due to a great threat of Libyan raids and the insecurity of civil war. 2. What role did scientific techniques play in the discovery of the site and its excavation
(350-400 words)
The first scientific excavation of the site was conducted between 1905-1909, by Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli.