A family affair in the community of Deir el-Medina : gossip girls in two 19th dynasty letters

Abstract

In this paper, we publish two letters found by E. Schiaparelli in Deir el-Medina (1908). These can be dated to the mid-19th dynasty (c. year 45–50 of Ramesses II) based on palaeographical and prosopographical clues. They add to the body of evidence for epistolary communications between women in the community of workers. In complex interactions (involving numerous quotes based on hearsay), the daughters and other female relatives of Tꜣ-ḫꜥ.t (ii) complain about the evil behavior of their mother and each other. The scribal hand is the same for both letters, though the letters were sent by different individuals, and it reveals the writing habits of a scribe who was active during the first part of the reign of Ramesses II. As such, autographs can be excluded.