Archaeological site · Egypt
Deir el-Medina
دير المدينة
Village, cemetery and chapels of the craftsmen who cut and painted the royal tombs, on Luxor's west bank.
Where it is
25.7283, 32.6013
Why go
Deir el-Medina was home to the artisans who cut and decorated the royal tombs of the New Kingdom. Founded probably under Thutmose I and abandoned late in the Twentieth Dynasty, the village housed families supplied with food, fuel, clothing and tools by the royal administration, and the workforce was split into a left and a right gang. Visitors see the walled lanes of house foundations, the cult buildings to the north and a hillside cemetery of some sixty painted or carved tombs, mostly Ramesside, which show how skilled workers imagined their own afterlife.
Near Deir el-Medina
Archaeological site
Valley of the Queens
West-bank necropolis of New Kingdom royal wives and children, home of Queen Nefertari's painted tomb.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is the mortuary temple complex of Ramesses II on Luxor’s west bank.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Medinet Habu
Ramesses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu preserves a fortified gateway, courtyards and decorated temple architecture.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Temple of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut’s terraced mortuary temple stands beneath the cliffs at Deir al-Bahari.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ