The evidence from Deir el-Medina also suggests that a large number of the inhabitants could read. The fragments also confirm that the students included children from the lower ranks (such as the children of a stonecutter) and at least one woman. Instead, the teachers included a number of draughtsman, a chief workman, and a deputy. The fragments suggest that while the teachers were of course literate, many of them did not hold the specific occupation of scribe. They were considered to be members of the royal court and as such did not have to pay tax, undertake military service, or perform manual labour.ĭjedkhonsuefankh, Scribe and Prophet of Montu, Late Period, METĪ large number of ostraca and papyrus dated to the New Kingdom were discovered in a pit close to the worker’s village at Deir el-Medina and many more fragments were scattered around the village itself. The scribes not only copied existing texts preserving them for future generations, they also edited existing works and wrote new texts. Scribes were the protectors and developers of ancient Egyptian culture and central to academic research and the smooth running of the state apparatus. The hieroglyphic language of the ancient Egyptians was complex and beautiful and those who mastered it held a valued position in society. There are depictions of scribes (identified by the traditional scribal crossed legged pose and their scribal equipment) dating back to as early as the Old Kingdom. The occupation of scribe is also one of the earliest jobs. The terms is more properly translated as “to draw” or “to create” rather than simply “to write” or “to read”. It is perhaps no surprise then that one of the most respected titles in ancient Egypt was “sesh” – “scribe”. In truth, very little happened in ancient Egypt which did not involve a scribe in some manner. Scribes were central to the functioning of the centralised administration, the army, and the priesthood. Henka, Scribe and overseer of the pyramids of Sneferu, Yair Haklai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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