Sennedjem

Sennedjem (“The one who pleases”) lived during the late 18th Dynasty through the 19th Dynasty, working under Seti I and Ramesses II (c. 1290–1250 B.C.). He held the title “Servant in the Place of Truth” (sḏm-ʿš m st-mꜣꜥt), which means he was a craftsman of the royal necropolis, living at Deir el-Medina. His work involved cutting, plastering, and decorating the tombs of pharaohs and their queens in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Workers like Sennedjem were highly skilled artisans, not mere labourers; they were essentially the master builders and artists of the New Kingdom’s royal afterlife palaces.

Sennedjem’s family is unusually well documented because of the intact discovery of his tomb (TT 1) in 1886, which contained the burials and funerary equipment of multiple generations. While not every relationship is perfectly clear, scholars have reconstructed much of his household.

He was married to a woman named Iineferty (also written Tjnnofert or Tjineferet) who is shown alongside him in tomb paintings, particularly in the Field of Reeds scenes, sowing and harvesting for eternity. She was also buried alongside him.

Iineferty, wife of Sennedjem

At the minimum, the couple had 3 sons; Khonsu, who like his father was a “Servant in the Place of Truth”, both he and his wife Tamaket were buried alongside Sennedjem in Tomb TT 1. A second son, Khâemwaset was also buried in what was essentially the family vault, along with his wife Wabet. The third son is less accounted for and named Ramesses, although it must be stated that some scholars debate his exact relation. Although Ramesses is mentioned in the tomb assemblage, details about him are much more elusive. It is believed Sennedjem and Iineferty also had daughters, however it is only their sons who are accounted for.

Along with the sons and their wives, generational burials also took place, with grandchildren eventually being laid to rest with their family. Khâbekenet, a “Servant in the Place of Truth,” and his wife Iset (Isis) are believed to be a part of the extended family or a later generation of the Sennedjem family. While we cannot absolutely confirm that their mummies rested there, as the publication by Gaston Maspero makes no mention of their coffins, however it does mention the presence of their funerary equipment such as their wooden painted ushabti box (Musée du Louvre. E 27147) making it very likely they, too, were interred within the family vault alongside Sennedjem’s other descendants.

The exact age of Sennedjem at the time of his death is not known, but studies of the mummies suggest he was an elderly man at his death, perhaps in his 60s or 70s, which was a long life for the period. His wife, Iyneferti, also lived to around 75 years of age. Their children and grandchildren buried with them show a family that prospered across several generations.

All in all, Sennedjem’s life represents the ordinary man elevated to extraordinary preservation, he spent his life building tombs for kings, but his own burial has given himself immortality and secured his legacy in human history.

Deir el-Medina “Set Maʿat” (The Place of Truth)

Located in a desert bay on the west bank of Thebes, within walking distance of the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, the Worker’s Village of Deir el-Medina “Set Maʿat” (The Place of Truth) was not an ordinary Egyptian village. It was a purpose-built, state-run settlement created to house and control the elite workforce who constructed the royal tombs. We know more about its organisation than almost any other ancient community, thanks to thousands of ostraca (pottery sherds with notes, letters, sketches) and papyri that survived in the dry desert. The workmen of Deir el-Medina were literate, organised, and well-paid in rations (bread, beer, meat, vegetables). They lived with their families, passed down their trade through generations, and formed a close-knit community.

The workforce belonged directly to the state. Oversight came from the Vizier of Thebes (chief government minister), the Mayor of Thebes (West Bank), and tForemen of the gangs at Deir el-Medina, who were effectively the supervisors on site. There were usually two foremen, one for each half of the crew. Their role was to assign daily tasks, record attendance, and liaise with higher officials. Below them were scribes, who kept meticulous records of work schedules, absences, rations, legal disputes, and even personal quarrels.

Deir el-Medina had its own local court (the kenbet), made up of workmen and sometimes wives. They handled disputes over property, theft, inheritance, and even accusations of sorcery or adultery. Many legal records survive, giving us extraordinary detail about everyday life.

The standard crew was about 40–60 men, divided into a left and right gang, echoing the way tombs were worked on two sides simultaneously. These men were all highly skilled: stonemasons, plasterers, draughtsmen, sculptors, and painters. Work was hereditary, sons often followed their fathers into the workforce.

Workers were paid in kind (monthly rations of grain, beer, fish, vegetables, and sometimes extra luxuries). Records survive of missed payments which led to the world’s first recorded strike, in the 29th year of Ramesses III (c. 1155 B.C.). The workmen downed tools because their rations had not been delivered. The workers of Deir el-Medina were among the best paid commoners in Egypt, with privileges not enjoyed by agricultural labourers.

Workers spent 8–10 day shifts, sleeping in huts near the Valley of the Kings while on duty. On their days off, they returned to their families in the village. They had small rectangular houses (about 4–6 rooms), laid out in neat rows within the walled settlement. Women managed households, and there is evidence of literacy among some of them.

The community had shrines to the gods, especially Meretseger (cobra goddess of the Theban mountain), Ptah, and Hathor, as well as the deified queen Ahmose-Nefertari. Workers often sketched informal devotional images (on ostraca and walls), showing how deeply religious daily life was. As always, festivals and banquets brought the community together, strengthening their identity as a closed, privileged group.

Tomb of Sennedjem

Discovered in 1886 by Egyptian workmen; the Tomb of Sennedjmen was one of the first fully intact tombs of an artisan ever found and provides us with an invaluable assemblage of a perfectly preserved picture of a middle-class artisan’s life and death in the New Kingdom.

In February 1886, local workmen digging at Deir el-Medina uncovered the sealed entrance to a tomb. The find quickly drew the attention of Gaston Maspero, then Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Unlike most tombs in the Theban necropolis, this one had never been looted, the plaster-sealed door was still intact after more than 3,000 years. When the tomb was opened, it revealed an astonishing sight: 21 burials from a single extended family, complete with coffins, mummies, furniture, food, tools, and ornaments, all still in place.

Excavation in 1886 was relatively crude compared to modern archaeology. The objects were recorded, packed, and transported to Cairo or sent abroad (many now in the Egyptian Museum, Louvre, and the Met). Maspero published a preliminary account but not a full scholarly excavation report, meaning some contextual details (such as which objects belonged to whom) were lost or remain uncertain.

Naturally, the tomb is quite modest compared to elite or royal monuments. A small pyramid-shaped superstructure with a chapel above ground (long since lost) once stood above ground. A staircase shaft leading down into the burial chambers and at the heart, a rectangular burial chamber, only about 5 × 2.5 metres, stood with a vaulted ceiling. The burial chambers contained the mummies and equipment of 21 individuals from the family. Despite its small size, the chamber is richly decorated on every wall and across the vaulted ceiling.

The walls of the burial chamber are decorated with such quality that it is easy to presume that Sennedjem and his workmates or simply Sennedjem himself painted the tomb themselves. The North Wall depicts Sennedjem and his wife Iyneferti harvesting, ploughing, and sowing in the Field of Reeds (Aaru), the eternal paradise, while the West Wall has the couple appear before Osiris, Isis, and Hathor, showing their piety and awaiting judgement. The East Wall includes the “Opening of the Mouth” ceremony, enabling them to eat, drink, and speak in eternity. Like the royal tombs, the ceiling is decorated with a yellow starry sky, providing the pair with a cosmic vault protecting the couple in eternity. The art has a distinct Deir el-Medina style, not courtly carved perfection like in royal tombs, but royal quality paintwork in a small space, with a touch of intimacy and warmth that reflects family life and daily agricultural work as the essence of eternal joy. Unlike royal tombs, which emphasise cosmic journeys and complex theology, TT 1 focuses on family and paradise through farming, feasting, and piety. This imagery reflects Sennedjem’s social class as a prosperous, literate artisan, but not an elite.

It was common for workmen at Deir el-Medina to construct their own family tombs in their spare time. The style and execution suggest a workshop effort. Whereas Sennedjem may not have painted every scene personally (he could have been a mason, draughtsman, or decorator), but his circle of craftsmen certainly decorated his tomb. It is tempting to imagine him literally “working on his eternity”, carving, plastering, or painting the walls for himself and his wife, with help from sons like Khonsu and Khâemwaset (who were also Servants in the Place of Truth).