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Temple of Deir el Medina
The little temple here never served the village of the workers -- the current structure is Greco-Roman and the workers on the tombs of the pharaohs were long gone. It is dedicated to Maat and Hathor. The columns in the outer court are Hathor-headed.
The temple was built by the Ptolemys (begun by Ptolemy Philopater and finished by his successors), and is decorated with scenes from the Book of the Dead. These have been defaced with Greek graffitti and the monks who livedinthe tempe and village during the early Coptic Christian era.
Compared to the enormous temples on the east bank, this is almost a miniature version -- it has a complete enclosure wall and a courtyard and sanctuary. THe mudbrick walls surrounding the small temple are breached by a stone gateway. THe walls are undulating, which we were told was menat to signify the waves of the ocean -- everything in Egyptian art and architecture is symbolic, it seems.
