DAYR AL-MADINAH

ancient site on the west bank of the Nile, at Thebes in Upper Egypt. It is known primarily as the location of a settlement for craftsmen who laboured on the royal tombs, especially those in the nearby Valley of the Kings (B iban al-Muluk). The village, the best-preserved of its type, has provided modern scholars with helpful insights into the living conditions of the state labourers. The settlement has also yielded thousands of inscribed papyri and ostraca fragments; these fragments have been an invaluable source of information not only about the literary and religious aspects of the workers' daily lives but also (especially regarding the 20th dynasty, 11901075 BC) about the economic and, less directly, the political fortunes of the time. Dayr al-Madinah is also the location of numerous tombs of the artisans who lived in the New Kingdom village, private tombs from the 19th and 20th dynasties, and three temples erected for the workers' use.