Mortuary Archaeology and Religious Landscape at Graeco-Roman Deir El-Medina

Abstract

Post-excavation analyses and interpretations of the site of Deir el-Medina have focused on the extensive New Kingdom documentary and material data. This has usually been at the expense of later periods, although the site demonstrates a broad temporal spectrum, with the construction of a Ptolemaic temple and significant Saite, Ptolemaic and Roman mortuary activity. From the perspective of contextual archaeology, this article will examine some patterns of mortuary and religious usage in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. This is based on three case studies: the general pattern of burials; a late Roman family burial in the cellar of a Ramesside house; and the Hathor temple. These illustrate how the status of the site shifted from the Ptolemaic to the early Christian Period, and how successive monumental constructions acted as vehicles for conceptualising different ideologies.