Female dancer from Deir el-Medina

This limestone ostracon was discovered in the famous Workers Village of Deir el-Medina. Dating from approximately, 1292–1076 B.C., this piece was created within the 19th or 20th Dynasty.

Deir el-Medina (Set Ma’at) was a workman’s village, which was state commissioned and owned. The artisans and architects who would design and build the tombs of the royals and elite would live there for many centuries with their families.

Deir el-Medina is therefore a treasure trove of knowledge for Egyptologists, as many of these everyday people occupying the village, were among the rare literate in society, and have left us with many ostraca detailing life in their community.