SOME THOUGHTS ON RELIGIOUS CHANGE AT DEIR EL-MEDINA

Cathleen Keller University of California, Berkeley

It gives me very great pleasure to contribute ticular, have met with some success: Baraize’s to a volume in honor of Richard Fazzini, a excavations in the Ptolemaic temple area;5 the fellow Egyptomania enthusiast and aficionado of clearance of the “oratorio” sacred to Ptah and ancient Thebes. I feel reasonably certain that Meretseger;6 Davies’ investigation of the “high the characters mentioned in this paper, though place,” situated above the path between Deir el- residents of the Western Side, were as familiar as Medina and the Valley of the Kings,7 and the he with the Temple of Mut at Karnak. Italian, German and French excavations of the The title of Keith Hopkins’s recent work on village itself, have yielded up some in situ ma- the religions of the Hellenistic Mediterranean, A terial.8 In addition to general surveys of reli- World Full of Gods,1 aptly describes the religious life gious cult and practice at Deir el-Medina,9 reli- of the workmen of Deir el-Medina as well. From gious studies of the Deir el-Medina “pantheon” the inception of the study of this organization, have frequently focused on individual deities, no- the votive monuments of the sdm.w-#sˇ m s.t-M3#.t tably the deified Amenhotep I10 and Ahmose- ¯ have attracted the attention of scholars.2 The Nefertari11 and Meretseger.12 Others, however, re- sheer quantity of the monuments, as well as the main understudied, including Hathor, the dedica- variety of the deities depicted3 (a list that includes tee of Deir el-Medina’s major sanctuary, and her divinities of both indigenous and foreign origin), interaction with her local sister-divinities, such as has led to their being used to illustrate general Meretseger and Henutimentet. These three de- compendia on Egyptian religion.4 Indeed, it is serve reexamination as well, building upon the difficult to know what we would do without them. pioneering work of Bruyère. Attempts to link these (all too) portable monu- For example, since at least Dynasty 11,13 Ha- ments to individual cult places at Deir el-Medina thor appears to provide local access to the west proper, and to the North Chapel area in par- (at, for example, Deir el-Bahri) in her aspect of

1 Keith Hopkins, A World Full of Gods: The Strange Triumph français à Deir el-Médineh,” RdÉ 5 (1946): 11–24 (for early of Christianity (New York: Penguin Books, 1999). work at Deir el-Medina); Bernard Bruyère, Le Village, les 2 Battiscombe Gunn, “The Religion of the Poor in décharges publiques, la station de repos du col de la Vallée des Rois, Ancient Egypt,” JEA 3 (1916): 81–94, and Adolf Erman, FIFAO 16 (Cairo: IFAO, 1939). For a recent summary, see “Denksteine aus der thebanischen Gräberstadt,” Sitzungs- Guillemette Andreu, “La site de Deir el-Médineh,” in Les berichte der Berliner Akademie der Wissenschaften 1911: 1086–1110. artistes de Pharaon: Deir el-Médineh et la Vallée des Rois (Paris: 3 Giorgio Noberasco, “Gli Dei a Deir el Medina,” Oriens Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2002), 19–41. Antiquus 20:4 (1981): 259–275. 9 As that of Dominique Valbelle, “Les ouvriers de la tombe”: 4 Such as: Stephen Quirke, Ancient Egyptian Religion (Lon- Deir el-Médineh à l’époque ramesside,BdÉ96 (Cairo: IFAO, don: British Museum Press, 1992). 1985), 313–331. 5 Émile Baraize, “Compte rendu des travaux exécutés 10 Jaroslav Cern´ˇ y, “Le culte de Amenophis Ier chez les à Déîr-el-Médinéh,” ASAE 13 (1914): 19–42,andBernard ouvriers de la nécropole thebaine,” BIFAO 27 (1927): 159– Bruyère, “Quelques stêles trouvées par M.E. Baraize à Deir 203; Teresa Moore, “The Good God Amenhotep: The el-Médineh,” ASAÉ 25 (1925): 76–96. deified king as a focus of popular religion during the 6 Bernard Bruyère, Mert Seger à Deir el-Médineh,MI- Egyptian New Kingdom” (PhD diss., UC Berkeley, 1994). FAO 58 (Cairo: IFAO, 1930), 5ff. 11 Michel Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Nerertary: Docu- 7 Norman de Garis Davies, “A ‘High Place’ at Thebes,” ments sur sa vie et son culte posthume, Annales litteraires de in Mélanges Maspero,MIFAO66,part1 (Cairo: IFAO, 1935– l’Université de Besançon (Paris: Centre de recherches d’his- 1938), 241–250. toire ancienne, 1975). 8 Rudolf Anthes, “Die deutschen Grabung auf der 12 Bruyère, Mert Seger à Deir el-Médineh. Westseite von Theben in den Jahren 1911 und 1913,” MDAIK 13 AccordingtothestelaofWahankhIntefII(MMA 12 (1943): 1–72; Bernard Bruyère, “Fouilles de l’Institut 13.182.3) and depictions in the temple of Nebhepetre 150 cathleen keller

“mistress of the Red Mountain,” whereas Meret- nPth-Skr (of Ptah-Sokar); a w#b knı.t" n Dhwtı" (in . . ¯ . seger was associated with the further western the cult of Thoth) and the bAknMrtsgr(associ- peaks.14 Meretseger’s increasing importance in ated with Meretseger). Important aspects of the the 20th Dynasty royal necropoleis, already noted Deir el-Medina priestly offices and functions are by Bruyère,15 was subsequently confirmed by Erik also understudied, however, including that of the Hornung in his publication of the tomb of Hor- female clergy.20 The largest corpus of frequently emheb, where he documented the prominence cited religious titles at Deir el-Medina pertains to of Hathor in the 18th Dynasty royal tombs, and the cult of the deified Amenhotep I. This mate- her systematic replacement, initially by Henuti- rial has been examined by Cern´ˇ y.21 mentet “the Western Goddess,” and finally by Associated with Amenhotep I: w#b, b Ak, smsw,ˇ Meretseger, in the royal tombs of the 20th Dy- #A-n-#, hrı-" h(A)b.t, ım" ı-" hnt, ıt-n" tr, hm-ntr,andhm-ntr ¯ . ¯ . ¯ . ¯ nasty.16 tpı".Alreadyin1927˘, Cern´ˇ y identified a barque- In the private realm, we can see a parallel related “set” of servitors through the examination development in the larger number of Deir el- of such documents as a column base in Cairo,22 Medina monuments dedicated to Hathor in Dy- which lists: a bAknDsrkAr#,ahrı-h(" A)b.t n "Imnhtp, ¯ ¯ . nasty 19 and to Meretseger in Dynasty 20.17 But an #3-n-#,sixw#b priests, and one hbs-bh.t. ,each with the removal of the royal necropolis from with assigned positions around the barque of the Thebes, and the concurrent disbanding of the god.23 He identified the w#bw as both carrying formal organization of The Tomb, the number out the cult of Amenhotep I in general, and as of votives dedicated to Meretseger declines,18 and the actual bearers of barques (of other divinities Hathor reasserts her importance as the patroness as well) that made oracular decisions, and noted of the Theban West Bank. that the title was limited largely to specific fami- A second focus of research on religious life at lies.24 Deir el-Medina is that of the religious personnel19 A third approach to studying the religious life attached to the local shrines. Beyond the title of of the Deir el-Medina workmen has been re- sdm-#sˇ, religious offices current at Deir el-Medina constructing the beliefs and practices of individ- ¯ include several groups of titles that appear to be ual members of the Crew. Naturally, this can be associated with specific divinities, such as: w#b, b Ak, undertaken only for well-attested workmen, and hm-ntr, hm-ntr tpı," ıt-n" tr,andhsı" (associated with here the scribe of the tomb Ramose has taken . ¯ . ¯ ¯ . Amun); w#b and hsı" (associated with Ptah); ıt-n" tr pride of place.25 Often described as the richest . ¯

Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahri. See Wolfgang Schenkel, feature both male and female servitors, as in the case of Memphis, Herakleopolis und Theben: Die epigraphische Zeugnisse Meretseger; see Bruyère, Mert Seger à Deir el-Médineh, 234– der 7.-11. Dynastie Ägyptens,ÄA12 (Wiesbaden: Otto Harras- 235. Barbara Richter recently completed a study of the sowitz, 1965), 96–99; William C. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt, female clergy of Hathor at Deir el-Medina: “The Priesthood part 1 (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1953), 151– of Hathor at Deir el-Medina: Devotion to the goddess by 152,fig.90; and Dieter Arnold, Der Tempel des Königs Nebhep- the clergy and their families,” (unpublished research paper, etre Mentuhotep von Deir el-Bahri,vol.2, Wandreliefs des Sanck- University of California, Berkeley, 2006). My thanks to Judy tuares,AV11 (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1974), Tf. 15, 18, Shattuck for access to this study. 25–28, 28. 21 Cern´ˇ y, “Le culte de Amenophis Ier,” 159–203. 14 See Bruyère, Mertseger à Deir el-Médineh, 202–209.On 22 Cairo JdE 51512; ibid., 194–195 and pl. 9. stela BM 278 of Kenherkhepeshef (see conveniently, Quirke, 23 For excellent depictions of their arrangement, ibid., Ancient Egyptian Religion, 136–137,fig.80), Hathor is securely 186ff., especially figs. 13 and 14. situated at Deir el-Bahri, while in st. Turin 50058 (Mario 24 For example, OC 25364 lists the porters of the barque Tosi and Alessandro Roccati, Stele e altre epigrafi di Deir el- of Amenhotep I as 6 w#b.w and 1 hm-n. tr,whoispositioned Medina [Turin: Edizioni d’Arte Fratelli Pozzo, 1972], 94–96 r-gs=f, “beside it”; also in O.JdE 51517¯there are 6 w#b.w at and pl. on 286), Meretseger is identified with the summit of an oracular decision of Amenhotep I, implying their role the Theban mountains (el Qurn). as barque bearers during the oracular process; in TT2 the 15 In Mert Seger à Deir el-Médineh, 276. barque of Amenhotep is borne by 8 bearers. 16 Erik Hornung, Das Grab des Haremhab im Tal der Könige 25 For the cultic activities of Ramose, see most recently: (Bern: Francke Verlag, 1971), 28. Andreu, Les artistes de Pharaon, 228–233.Forthelifeand 17 The reason for this change is discussed immediately career of Ramose, see also Bernard Bruyère, Rapport sur les following. fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1935–1940), Fascicule 2, Trouvailles 18 Bruyère, Mert Seger à Deir el-Médineh, 276–279. d’objects,FIFAO20 (Cairo: IFAO, 1952), 13–20;Jaroslav 19 Any study of this topic must begin with the list in: Cern´ˇ y, A Community of Workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside Bernard Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el-Médineh Period,BdÉ50 (Cairo: IFAO, 1973), 312–327, and Benedict (1929),FIFAO7,part2 (Cairo: IFAO, 1930), 12–15,from G. Davies, Who’s Who at Deir el-Medina: A Prosopographic which my numeration is largely derived. study of the royal workmen’s community, Egyptologiche Uitgaven 20 Cults of the female divinities, as expected, seem to 13 (Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten,