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The Royal Workforce
Documentation and archaeological evidence
discovered at the royal necropolis workmen’s towns at Giza, Kahun,
and Deir el-Medina provide insight into the royal labor force’s
terms and conditions of service. In general these were quite
favorable owing to the workers’ unique status and contribution to
the royal afterlife.
Anatomy of a Work Gang Documents found in the rubbish heaps at Deir el-Medina indicate that the gang of craftsmen engaged in constructing and decorating the royal tomb may have numbered 120 men as a full complement, perhaps at the start of a reign when a new tomb was inaugurated, but fell to a lower number as the tomb progressed. These figures are based on the records of grain rations supplied to the men. The gang was divided into a right and left side, and men were usually permanently attached to one side, although they could be temporarily or permanently transferred as the need arose. Each gang contained different categories of workmen; the most important the chief workmen numbered two, each controlling one side of the tomb. They directed the workmen and acted as their representatives in dealings with the authorities. They also settled disputes and sat on the local law court (kenbet) which handled the community’s legal problems. At the site they supervised the tomb materials and took charge of the wood and colors supplied by the authorities as well as distributing new tools, wood, clothes, oil, and wicks to the workforce as required. Each gang had two deputies who supported the chiefs; the deputies also had legal and administrative responsibilities, helped the chief and the royal scribe with investigations and inspections, and assisted with the distribution to the workforce of their rations bread, fish, wicks, timber, and charcoal for fuel, gypsum, oil, and jugs of beer. There were also tomb guardians who protected the stock of tomb materials, sat on the local court, inspected tombs, and escorted prisoners and suspects. Each tomb had two doorkeepers conscripted from outside the gang who acted as messengers and couriers for the workmen. Male servants carried water and food for the workmen, cut wood, made gypsum for coating the tomb walls, made pots, and washed clothes. Women slaves were also attached to the gang. They were provided by the king to grind the workmen’s grain rations into flour on grindstones in the village. The administrative duties associated with the tomb were carried out by two royal scribes. They kept records of the workmen’s activities and wages, payments received for the workmen, tools and commodities issued to the community, and the workers’ reasons for absenteeism. Chiefs and scribes formed the three or four “captains of the tomb” who were collectively responsible for the workmen’s behavior. There were also the police (Medjay) of the tomb who ensured the site’s safety. .
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Wages and Labor Relations
The records supply information not only about the composition and responsibilities of the gang but also about promotion procedures and wages. There seems to have been a policy of paying men at two levels: Those supporting wives and families had a higher wage than bachelors who, as young men, received training as stonemasons, carpenters, sculptors, or draftsmen. They either succeeded their fathers to become members of the royal gang or were recruited from outside. Places were limited, and there were more workmen’s children than available vacancies; this led to intense competition with fathers attempting to persuade the chiefs to appoint their sons. This was done by means of flattery and bribery with presents, mostly of wooden furniture. Wages were paid on the twenty-eighth day of each month for the following month. Basic payment was in grain (emmer wheat for flour and barley for beer) authorized by the vizier and drawn from the king’s granary by the royal scribe. The government also supplied fish, vegetables, water, wood for fuel, and pottery; there were less regular payments of cakes, readymade beer, and dates and bonuses of salt, natron, sesame oil, and meat for special occasions such as festivals. Some clothes were also supplied. The payments generally exceeded requirements, and the community could barter some of these goods with other people for different products. Workers also enhanced their income by producing fine quality goods for the homes and tombs of the wealthy. Deir el-Medina was generally a prosperous community when the government payments were regular, but if crop failures or other demands depleted the granaries and the wages were delayed, the workers and their families experienced hardship. There were frequent complaints about these delays in Dynasty 20, and when the food was still not forthcoming the workforce withdrew its labor. The first record of a major strike occurred in year 29 of Ramesses III’s reign (c.1158 BC), and there were shorter strikes in later reigns, the last being recorded in year 13 of Ramesses X. Documentary evidence from Kahun, an earlier workmen’s town, however, indicates that such disputes probably occurred before and may have been a feature of industrial relations since the Old Kingdom. Because work on the royal tomb had special significance and it was essential that the tomb should be completed so that the king could pass safely to the afterlife, the royal workforce had considerable bargaining power with the authorities. They were obliged to find the means of supplying the rations, and the strike action was inevitably successful. There were, however, other reasons for delay in completing the royal tomb. Records indicate that absenteeism from work was commonplace; on occasions, the whole gang absconded to undertake unofficial duties for the chiefs and scribes such as decorating their tombs. The attendance register gives other reasons for absenteeism, including illness, nursing other workmen, preparing the body of a deceased member of the community for burial, attending funerals, offering to the gods, attending festivals, undertaking household repairs, and even quarreling with one’s wife, brewing beer, and getting drunk! .
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Living Conditions
The workmen lived with their families at Deir el-Medina but spent their working days in the Valley of the Kings, sleeping overnight in huts nearby. Remains of these camp buildings have been found at both Deir el-Medina and Amarna. The men worked continuously for eight days and returned to their homes on the ninth and tenth days. Each day in the Valley of the Kings, they worked two four-hour shifts with a lunch break at noon. In addition to their six days of rest each month, however, there were sometimes other free days in the work week and frequent official holidays and religious festivals as well as unofficial extended “weekend breaks” and time taken off to prepare their own tombs. In the workmen’s absence, when they were at the royal tomb site, the life of the community in the town was organized by the women; they were responsible for bringing up their families and supervising the household and the slaves who ground the grain. Other residents who lived permanently in the town included retired men, the sick, men on special duties associated with the law courts and religion, and the servants. .
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The Royal Workforce
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