The majority of Egyptian towns and villages seem to have developed in a piecemeal, haphazard fashion around a central core of public buildings. Town planning did exist, but, as we shall see, it was limited to specialized types of community created for specific, official purposes. There is also evidence of planning in the central government and palace quarters of the major cities, notably El-Amarna, which has been extensively excavated. The organic growth of residential areas in large towns and small villages can be illustrated both archaeologically and from documentary papyri. A village of the late New Kingdom has been excavated within the walls of the mortuary temple of Ramesses Ill at Medinet Habu.
it consists of modest homes,which according to the excavators, were laid out arbitrarily and without planning. Separating the houses are narrow alleyways which wander crookedly up and downhill, with steps to negotiate the rubbish heaps on which the village is partly built. Groups of houses are constructed around central courts or blind alleyways, some of which are closed off from the street by gateways. It is evident that houses within these small complexes gradually altered and grew to meet the needs of succeeding generations of occupants. Occupation of housing by extended family groups can also be demonstrated by documentary papyri from several periods of Egyptian history. For instance, the household of Hekanakhte, a mortuary priest of the Twelfth Dynasty from the village of Nebeseyet near Thebes. consisted of his mother, his concubine, a female dependent relative, five men who may have been his sons, three women probably his daughters, the agent of the estate and his family, and finally a number of servants.
Approximately seventeen centuries later, the development of a single property by a large family can be followed in a group of legal documents from Thebes in which the owner of the house, Djufachi, a carpenter, divided it between live members of his family. Over the next forty years ownership of the divided property passed to other members of the family and to others connected to it by marriage. Eventually, through foreclosure and sale, the properties moved outside the extended family group, but by then the form of the original house had altered and grown into an organic series of dwellings.
Even within the planned residential zones of El-Amarna a similar pattern can be discerned. Groups of small houses cluster around court- yards, often with shared facilities. These clumps of modest homes tend to be grouped round the mansions of the rich, and their inhabitants were probably the retainers and dependents of the great men. In marked contrast to these homely, organic settlements are planned, organized communities. lnto this category fall the towns built for the workmen who constructed the pyramids towns Inhabited by priests who maintained the funerary cult of the deceased Pharaoh, the fortress towns of Nubia, and villages built for those engaged in the excavation and decoration of New Kingdom royal tombs, such as at Deir el-Medina and El-Amarna. These communities possessed certain common characteristics. They were usually in hospitable, remote areas, without their own water supply, and were surrounded by rectangular or sub-rectangular walls, within which the streets and houses were laid out in a regular pattern, either in straight rows or a grid. Individual dwellings were of uniform size and design, except for one or two larger houses inhabited by the foreman or administrators. The workmen's village at El-Amarna was a poor, unpleasant place consisting of seventy- two housing units plus a larger overseer's dwelling. The houses were small and cramped, measuring approximately five by ten metres. The narrow streets were cluttered-with water jars and tethering posts for animals, and animals seem also to have been sheltered in the entrance rooms of the dwellings. Beyond the entrance was the main living and sleeping room, which was divided into two tiny chambers, one a kitchen, the other a second bedroom or store. In the kitchen area was a stairway to the roof.
The village of Deir el-Medina, although similar in concept, was far more prosperous and the individual houses were somewhat larger — about five by fifteen metres — and better appointed, especially later in its history. The original Eighteenth Dynasty settlement was sub-rectangular in shape and consisted of one street, off which the workmen's dwellings opened. Unlike El-Amarna, which only survived a few years, Deir el-Medina existed for over four centuries and during that time interesting developments took place. The community expanded until there were seventy units within the walls and about fifty outside. The main street was lengthened, but it developed a dog-leg and new subsidiary alleyways appeared. The interiors of the houses were modified or amalgamated to suit the needs of individual families, and rooms were converted for private enterprise into shops, workshops and bars. In short, it came to resemble the normal, haphazard kind of Egyptian village.
Instead of being used as a stable. the entrance room of a typical house at Deir el-Medina was set up as a household chapel with niches for offerings, stelae and busts. On the wall was painted an image of the god Bes, one of the family deities associated with childbirth, and a brick construction found in these chapels may have served as a birthing bed. The antechamber led into the main room of the house, the ceiling of which was quite lofty and supported by one or mere columns.
Against one wall was a raised dais, plastered and whitewashed, which served as an eating area by day and a bed at night. Beneath this platform was often a cellar. Leading from this principal room were one or two small chambers for sleeping or storage. At the rear of the house was a small walled court which served as the kitchen. Here there was an oven a grain silo and grinding equipment. In some houses there was another cellar sunk beneath the yard. The roof of the house was reached by a staircase ascending from the kitchen court.
There is one interesting example which points to another type of housing which may have existed in the residential districts of old, established cities such as Thebes. This is found in a scene from the tomb of Djhutynefer at Thebes and shows a multistorey type of ‘town house’. The right-hand part of the scene is missing. This may have shown the main door and entrance loggia of the house. Above where the entrance should be are the fragmentary remains of two rooms with servants at work.
These may be the bedrooms, or possibly servants’ quarters or workrooms. A staircase runs the full height of the house and further servants are shown carrying food and vessels up to the roof. At the top of the staircase is a canopied area which could be a kitchen, for a servant is shown preparing food and to locate the kitchen on the open roof would ensure the cooking smells were carried away over the rooftops. Also on the roof are a number of storage bins and grain soils. The basement of the house is given over to other domestic activities such as spinning and waiving, the grinding of corn and sieving of grain. The first floor of the house contains the main apartments. Servants are shown offering the house owner food and flowers. The ceiling of the chamber is high and the rafters are decorated in a block design. On the top floor of the house Djhutynefer is shown working in his office.
Source: Mariam Stead, Egyptian life.
Approximately seventeen centuries later, the development of a single property by a large family can be followed in a group of legal documents from Thebes in which the owner of the house, Djufachi, a carpenter, divided it between live members of his family. Over the next forty years ownership of the divided property passed to other members of the family and to others connected to it by marriage. Eventually, through foreclosure and sale, the properties moved outside the extended family group, but by then the form of the original house had altered and grown into an organic series of dwellings.
Even within the planned residential zones of El-Amarna a similar pattern can be discerned. Groups of small houses cluster around court- yards, often with shared facilities. These clumps of modest homes tend to be grouped round the mansions of the rich, and their inhabitants were probably the retainers and dependents of the great men. In marked contrast to these homely, organic settlements are planned, organized communities. lnto this category fall the towns built for the workmen who constructed the pyramids towns Inhabited by priests who maintained the funerary cult of the deceased Pharaoh, the fortress towns of Nubia, and villages built for those engaged in the excavation and decoration of New Kingdom royal tombs, such as at Deir el-Medina and El-Amarna. These communities possessed certain common characteristics. They were usually in hospitable, remote areas, without their own water supply, and were surrounded by rectangular or sub-rectangular walls, within which the streets and houses were laid out in a regular pattern, either in straight rows or a grid. Individual dwellings were of uniform size and design, except for one or two larger houses inhabited by the foreman or administrators. The workmen's village at El-Amarna was a poor, unpleasant place consisting of seventy- two housing units plus a larger overseer's dwelling. The houses were small and cramped, measuring approximately five by ten metres. The narrow streets were cluttered-with water jars and tethering posts for animals, and animals seem also to have been sheltered in the entrance rooms of the dwellings. Beyond the entrance was the main living and sleeping room, which was divided into two tiny chambers, one a kitchen, the other a second bedroom or store. In the kitchen area was a stairway to the roof.
The village of Deir el-Medina, although similar in concept, was far more prosperous and the individual houses were somewhat larger — about five by fifteen metres — and better appointed, especially later in its history. The original Eighteenth Dynasty settlement was sub-rectangular in shape and consisted of one street, off which the workmen's dwellings opened. Unlike El-Amarna, which only survived a few years, Deir el-Medina existed for over four centuries and during that time interesting developments took place. The community expanded until there were seventy units within the walls and about fifty outside. The main street was lengthened, but it developed a dog-leg and new subsidiary alleyways appeared. The interiors of the houses were modified or amalgamated to suit the needs of individual families, and rooms were converted for private enterprise into shops, workshops and bars. In short, it came to resemble the normal, haphazard kind of Egyptian village.
Instead of being used as a stable. the entrance room of a typical house at Deir el-Medina was set up as a household chapel with niches for offerings, stelae and busts. On the wall was painted an image of the god Bes, one of the family deities associated with childbirth, and a brick construction found in these chapels may have served as a birthing bed. The antechamber led into the main room of the house, the ceiling of which was quite lofty and supported by one or mere columns.
Against one wall was a raised dais, plastered and whitewashed, which served as an eating area by day and a bed at night. Beneath this platform was often a cellar. Leading from this principal room were one or two small chambers for sleeping or storage. At the rear of the house was a small walled court which served as the kitchen. Here there was an oven a grain silo and grinding equipment. In some houses there was another cellar sunk beneath the yard. The roof of the house was reached by a staircase ascending from the kitchen court.
There is one interesting example which points to another type of housing which may have existed in the residential districts of old, established cities such as Thebes. This is found in a scene from the tomb of Djhutynefer at Thebes and shows a multistorey type of ‘town house’. The right-hand part of the scene is missing. This may have shown the main door and entrance loggia of the house. Above where the entrance should be are the fragmentary remains of two rooms with servants at work.
These may be the bedrooms, or possibly servants’ quarters or workrooms. A staircase runs the full height of the house and further servants are shown carrying food and vessels up to the roof. At the top of the staircase is a canopied area which could be a kitchen, for a servant is shown preparing food and to locate the kitchen on the open roof would ensure the cooking smells were carried away over the rooftops. Also on the roof are a number of storage bins and grain soils. The basement of the house is given over to other domestic activities such as spinning and waiving, the grinding of corn and sieving of grain. The first floor of the house contains the main apartments. Servants are shown offering the house owner food and flowers. The ceiling of the chamber is high and the rafters are decorated in a block design. On the top floor of the house Djhutynefer is shown working in his office.
Source: Mariam Stead, Egyptian life.
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how many people live in cairo
ReplyDeleteTHERE are alot of people live in Egypt
the number of them about 97.5 million as at 2017
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