Ancient Lives

Adjacent to ancient Thebes, the tomb-makers' village elucidates some mysteries of this long-buried culture: the role of the gods in everyday life, the Egyptians' vision of the afterlife, the significance of a king's burial, and the general design of the royal tombs.

The stories of two ordinary workers-Kenhirkhopeshef, a dedicated scribe, and Paneb, a volatile foreman-reveal how religious beliefs informed the everyday lives of the Egyptians. When Ramses III moved the royal court from Thebes to the delta, the close-knit tomb-makers' community began to split along class lines.

As evidenced by the subtleties of their architecture and decoration, the royal tombs experienced an artistic renaissance under scribe Amennakht. But under his son, scribe Harshire, the plundering began-instigated by none other than the trusted tomb makers themselves.

Tomb raiding escalated dramatically after a great famine. And, as scribes Djutmose and utehamun discovered, thieves invaded even the remote tombs of the kings from the old dynasty. Romer scouts some of these long-buried sites and offers clues to unearthing new ones.