[First posted March 2011,  Revised 10 November 2011]

Bread riots have been a regular feature of public protests in Egypt, and the most recent unrest in Midan Tahrir, Cairo, is associated with rises in food prices.  So it is timely to look at what is thought to be the first known ‘sit-down-strike‘ over food in the Nile Valley, which took place during the 29th year of the reign of Ramses III, 12th Century BCE (c.1198-1166 BCE).

I have put plans or pix up of the different temples in which the workers had their sit-down strikes.

The major record for the strike is contained in the so-called Papyrus Turin 1879 , verso ii.

Strike papyrus in the Turin Museum

This is a difficult text, it is broken up and the hieratic is not easy to read.  I think we did not attempt it until our third year of hieroglyphic study.  Being a graduate student at Berkeley, I was fascinated by the subject matter; for at the same time we were working on the text learning about workers’ strikes in ancient Egypt, there were ‘sit-down-strikes’ being organized on the Berkeley campus.  So it was an exciting text to work through and I am sorry that I have lost my original records and notes, but must rely on a variety of texts saved over the years from the internet.  As background to the strikes, this is what  nefertiti.iwebland.com has to say:

[On the day above-mentioned] the scribe Amennakhte personally delivered a formal complaint about this situation [lack of payment-in-kind to the workers in the tombs] to the Temple of Horemheb, which was part of the large administrative complex of Medinet Habu.

Although a payment was forthcoming soon after, the poor conditions continued and in the sixth month of that year, the men of the two gangs[*] stopped working and  marched together to one of the royal mortuary temples, perhaps Tuthmosis III, where they staged what would now be called a sit-in.

They repeated this on the following day within the complex of another mortuary temple, possibly Ramesses II, and possibly within a third temple, that of Seti I, until the men’s complaints were recorded by the priests and sent across the river to Thebes. Only then were the rations owed finally distributed, but the events of this strike would be repeated before the reign of Ramesses III ended.  Along the west Bank of Luxor, just above the cultivated area, there are the remains of a series of mortuary temples that are dated from this era.  Cults of deceased pharaohs who had built the temples were followed and a sit-down strike in them must have been considered outrageous.

* Two gangs: In ancient Egypt workforces in temples and tombs were generally partitioned into two halves, a right and a left side, each with their own hierarchies of foremen, scribes etc.

Mortuary temples of pharaohs of the New Kingdom are lined up; names are given. The workers occupied several of these temples, mentioned below, during their sit-down strikes.

==============

The Turin Strike Papyrus was written by the scribe Amennakhte at Deir el Medina [the workmen's village in which the strikers lived, to be discussed in a future blog]. It describes the workers’ struggle, and the corruption which had spread throughout the administration.

Although the text is broken and not always easy to follow, I’ve put it all below to give a flavor of the problems of the time.  Also, I’ve put in pictures-plans of the different temples on the West Bank (Karnak-Luxor) in which the workers demonstrated.

Year 29, second month of winter, day 10.
On this day the crew passed the five guard-posts [Medjay guarding the necropolis]. of the tomb saying: “We are hungry, for 18 days have already elapsed in this month[past payday - i.e., giving of food and supplies];” and they sat down at the rear of the [mortuary] temple of Menkheperre [Thutmose III].

The scribe of the enclosed tomb, the two foremen, the two deputies and the two proctors came and shouted to them: “Come inside.”

They swore great oaths (saying): “Please come back, we have matters of Pharaoh.”

They spent the night in the Tomb.

Year 29, second month of winter, day 10.
The entire crew passed the five guard-posts of the tomb. They reached the inner part of the temple of Pharaoh [Generally not accessible to the uninitiated] . The three captains, the (two) deputies and the two proctors came. They found them seated at the rear of the temple of Menkheperre in the outer road.

 Year 29, second month of winter, day 10.
On this day the crew passed the guard-post because of their ration.

Madinat habu, mortuary temple of Ramses III - best preserved of the mortuary temples

Year 29, second month of winter, day 11.
They passed again. They reached the gate of the southern temenos-wall [temple enclosure] of the Temple of Wesermaatre-setepenre [Ramses II]. [As mentioned above, there were mortuary temples that had been built all along the Left Bank of the Nile by recent-past pharaohs, each with its own compliment of administrative staff.]

Ramesseum is the 'mortuary temple' of king Ramesses II (about 1279-1213 BC) digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk

Year 29, second month of winter, day 11.
There were brought by the scribe Pentaweret: s’b-cakes: 28, s’b-cakes: 27. Total 55.  temenos-wall: temple enclosure.

Year 29, second month of winter, day 12.
They reached the temple of Wesermaatre-setepenre [Ramses II] the night quarrelling in its entrance. They entered into its interior, and the scribe Pentaweret, the two chiefs of police, the two gatekeepers, the gatekeepers of the Gatehouse of the Tomb … (The chief of police) Mentmose (declared that he would go) to Thebes saying: “I will fetch the mayor of Thebes    [Ptahemheb, the mayor of Thebes, also held the position of chief taxing master, having access to the state granaries].

“I (Mentmose) said to him: “Those of the Tomb are (in) the temple of Wesermaatre-setepenre [Ramses II].”
He said to me: “… treasury … you … there is not … give you … (to the place where) one is …”
The two chiefs of police … Pharaoh, the accounts scribe Hednakht, the god-fathers of this administration (came out (?)) to hear their statement.

They said to them [i.e the strikers to the officials]: “The prospect of hunger and thirst has driven us to this; there is no clothing, there is no ointment [of not insignificant importance in a hot fry climate], there is no fish [a main  source of protein], there are no vegetables. Send to Pharaoh, our good lord, about it, and send to the vizier, our superior, that we may be supplied with provisions.”

The ration of the 1st month of winter was issued to them on this day [about 21 days late].

Year 29, second month of winter, day 12.
They passed and (they) reached the Temple of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Wesermaatre-setepenre [Ramses II]. … Mentmose (?) (said) to the crew: “Finish ‘whatever you are doing’ that we may go out.”

Year 29, second month of winter, day 13.
At the Gatehouse of the Tomb. Declaration by the chief of police Mentmose [During this strike the chief of police sided openly with the strikers, probably not a good career move.]: “I’ll tell you my opinion. Go up, gather your paraphernalia, close your doors, fetch your wives and your children, and I’ll lead you to the temple of Menmaatre and let you settle down there forthwith.

Second month of winter, day 15 (or 16).
…. “Give each man half a sack {In the New Kingdom about 80 litres] of barley, [for brewing beer]” so he said. Mentmose had one qbw-jar of beer and fifty (??) brought to them, but to no avail. They passed again and in the evening they were even carrying torches (?).

Second month of winter, day 17.
The imy-r mSaw[overseer of travellers] of the temple of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Wesermaatre-meriamun [Ramses III]came to the crew. He heard [their declaration, saying: "Tell (me) that which I shall write to Pharaoh about."

The scribe Hori ... He said to me: "the mayor of Thebes ... spending the night."
I haven't got emmer to give to you. One gave a ration at the gatehouse ... in the second month of winter, day 17, likewise. The foreman, 7½ sacks, 18 men, each 5½ sacks, the two striplings, complete, the woman slave, complete. I

Year 29, second month of winter, day 17.
Giving the ration of the second month:
Right side:*
1 foreman: 7½ sacks
the scribe: 3¾ sacks
8 men, each one: 52/4 sacks, making 44 sacks.

Left side:*
1 foreman: 7½ sacks
the scribe: 3¾ sacks
8 men, each one: 52/4 sacks, making 44 sacks.

*  [In ancient Egypt workforces in temples and tombs were generally partitioned into two halves, a right and a left side, each with their own hierarchies of foremen, scribes etc.]

The two gatekeepers, the four washermen …

Year 29, third month of winter.
The crew passed the guard posts; they sat down in the Tomb. The three captains went out to fetch them. And the workman Mose, son of Anakhte, said: “As Amun endures and as the ruler, whose wrath is greater than death, endures, if I am taken from here today I shall go to sleep only after having made preparations for robbing a tomb [Tomb robbing became a favourite pastime of both official and private looters in the late New Kingdom - as now again seems to be the case following the downfall of Mubarak's government]  If I do not (i.e. keep the oath), it is because of this swearing of mine by the name of Pharaoh there that one shall punish me.

The crew went out to pass the guard-post from the rear of the village after the three captains had made a great shout against them at the gate of the village [Probably the workmen's village of Deir el Madina where they and their families lived]. The scribe Amennakhte of the enclosed Tomb made the two proctors and the two deputies go out to fetch them. The proctor Reshpetref returned saying to us: “Thus speak Qenna, son of Ruta, and Hay, son of Huy: ‘We will not come back, you can tell your superiors that,” – they stood in front of their comrades – “for sure, it is not because of hunger that we passed (i.e. that we are on strike), but we have a serious charge to make; for sure, something bad has been done in this place of Pharaoh’, so they said.”

And when we went out to listen to their statement, they said to us: “Tell it as it is.”

Year 29, fourth month of winter, day 28.
The vizier Toe went northwards after he had come to take the gods of the southern region to the Sed-jubilee. The chief of police Nebsemen, son of Pahnesy, came to say to the three captains and to the crew as they were standing at the gatehouse of the Tomb: “Thus says the vizier: ‘Was it for no reason that I did not come to you? It was not because there was nothing to bring you that I did not come! As for your saying: ‘Do not take away our rations!’ am I the vizier who was promoted (recently) [Toe, who had been vizier of Lower Egypt had been appointed vizier of the whole country on day 23 of the second month of akhet year 29] or the purpose of taking away? I may not give (you) what he who is in my position should have accomplished – it so happens that there is nothing in the granaries [one of the reasons for the state of the granaries may well have been the corruption apparent everywhere]- but I shall give you what I have found.’”

And the scribe Hori of the Tomb said to them: “There is given to you a half-ration and I will distribute it to you myself.”

Year 29, first month of summer, day 2.
Amenkhay and Weserhat gave the two sacks of emmer to the crew as ration for the first month of summer. The foreman Khonsu said to the crew: “Look, I tell you, accept the ration and then go down to the market-place to the gatehouse, and have the vizier’s children [= subordinates] tell him about it.”

When the scribe Amennakhte had finished giving them the ration they betook themselves to the market-place in accordance with what he (i.e. Khonsu) had told them. But when they passed one guard-post, the scribe Amennakhte went out and said to them: “Do not pass to the market-place. For sure, I have just given you two sacks of emmer. You go then, and I’ll have you convicted in any court you’ll go to.”
Year 29, first month of summer, day 13.
The crew passed the guard-posts saying: “We are hungry.”

They sat down at the rear of the temple of Baenre-meryamun [Merneptah] . They shouted at the mayor of Thebes as he was passing by, and he sent to them the gardener Meniufer of the chief overseer of cattle to say to them: “See, I’ll give these 50 sacks of emmer for provisions until Pharaoh gives you (a) ration.

Mortuary temple of MERNEPTAH

Year 29, first month of summer, day 16.
Declaration by the workman Penanuke to the scribe Amennakhte and the foreman Khonsu: “You are my superiors, and you are the administrators of the Tomb. Pharaoh, my good lord, has made me swear an oath of fealty saying: ‘I will not hear anything. I will not see any damage in the great and deep places and conceal it.

‘ Now, Weserhat and Pentaweret have stripped stones from the top of the tomb shaft of Osiris King Wesermaatre-setepenre [Ramses II], the great god. And he took away an ox branded with the brand of the temple of Wesermaatre-setepenre, and it is standing in his stable. And he had intercourse with three married women: the lady Menat when she was living with Qenna, the lady Taiunes when she was living with Nakhtamun and the lady Tawerethetepti when she was living with Pentaweret. [examples of the wide-spread robbery and illicit behaviour of the time - continued below.]

Now, you have seen the attitude of the vizier Hori concerning the taking away of stones, which was reported to him: ‘The foreman Peneb’ – my father – ‘put men to take off stones from it, (he did) just that.’ And Qenna, son of Ruta, did it in exactly the same way from the top of the tomb shaft of the royal children of King Osiris Wesermaatre-setepenre], the great god [Ramses II had at least 100 children; a catch of mummies of some of them was discovered in Valley of the Kings.] Let me see what you will do to them, or I will report them to Pharaoh, my lord, and to the vizier, my superior.”

He said: “Weserhat made plans for robbing his tomb and implemented them in the Valley of the Queens.” [Cases of corruption were uncovered every now and then. Penanuke in his accusation of Weserhat and Pentaweret recalls a similar case of theft in which his own father, Peneb, had been involved decades earlier. In this context one may wonder why he also accuses Weserhat of having committed adultery. ]

Translated by Paul J. Frandsen in Editing Reality: The Turin Strike Papyrus
Sarah Israelit-Groll, Studies in Egyptology, Vol.1, Jerusalem 1990, Magnes Press, Hebrew University

It seems to me that when working on this text, it was stated that when the gangs marched to the back of one of the temples and sat down to strike, they placed their tools on their heads – (as a sign of work-refusal).  However, I can find no translations suggesting this and I cannot fine copies of the original text. Perhaps it is my imagination – or perhaps a result of studying Egyptology at Berkeley, during the last years of demonstrations and so forth that took place on the campus.

In addition to the strike papyrus at the Museum of Turin from which the above is taken, there are a number of other records during this era that shed light on administration of the time, both papyrus and ostrica that were found in and near the workmen’s village of Deir el-Madina.  These records are primarily  scattered throughout museums in Europe.

A listing in hieratic of absent workers and reasons - side 1

Side 2

The data not only provide invaluable information on administrative matters, but also on diet and social affairs as well as on political events of the time.  Here are a few records from ostrica found at Deir el-Medina:

 A letter of complaint from workers in the necropolis of Deir el-Medina.

To: Bearer of the fly swatter to the right of the King, mayor of the city and vizier, Ta [the same Vizier Toe, discussed above in the Strike Papyrus], the scribe Neferhotep writes to his Lord, Life-Strength-Health (an honorific following the name of a superior).

This letter is to let my Lord [the Vizer, Ta]  know the following:

I inform my Lord that I work at the tombs of the royal children, which my Lord [the vizier] ordered constructed. I work very carefully and very excellently, progressing well and perfectly.

I do not want to bother my Lord, because I work very regularly and I am not tired. [but]

I want my Lord to know that we {the workmen of the necropolis} are in the most extreme deprivation… [he then states that they have not been provided with goods [= their wages in kind] from the government stores and goes on to say] …

The stones are not light to carry!

Someone also suppressed 1 ½ bag of barley, giving to give us instead 1 ½ bags of dirt!

May my lord act so that our livelihoods are assured, because we are already near death and cannot stay alive. 

Indeed, [those responsible] give us nothing, nothing at all!    

A salary statement of Deir el-Medina for the workmen of the necropolis:

First month of summer salary for the second month of summer: the foreman 7 ½ sacks, the scribe 7 ½ sacks, each of the 17 workers 5 ½ sacks, 93 ½ sacks, the two youth each 2 bags, 4 bags, guards 4½ bags ; all the maids (together) 3 sacks, porter 1 ½ bags; physician 1 ½ bag; which makes the total 117 ½ bags.  

{Here the scribe has unfortunately erred in his calculation, this happens very often in these documents.}

Wage chart for workers in the left and right 'gangs', and names. By Vladimira

Receipt for wages for work at Deir el-Medina.

Which was given to paint the coffin:
A garment woven with a value of 3 {séniou weighing about 7.6 grams of silver} and
A bag worth ½ a bag of grain,
1 mat with cover, ½ séniou, and
A bronze vase worth ½ séniou.

- Copyright © C. 1998-1903 ORSI

The reign of Ramses III during which these strikes took place was tumultious.  Aside from the strikes and tomb robberies detailed above, there was a conspiracy organized by the pharaoh’s harim against Ramses III and records of the trial remain in hieratic form in the Turin Judicial Papyrus.

As well, there were disruptions all along the valley and in the Luxor area caused by Libyan incursions, which I did quite a bit of work trying to unravel, for these incursions took place both before and after Ramses III’s era and resulted in a series of forts being built in the western Delta of Egypt to keep the Libyan forces at bay.

Ramses III with captured Libyans and other enemies, Madinet Habu temple

All of the senior workers discussed in this blog had houses in Deir el-Medina which, being located in the desert near the mortuary temples and valley of kings and queens, was completely reliant on the government to provide food and other supplies.  This accounts for the need of strikes by the workers when obligations of payments in kind could not be met.

The workmen's village where skilled craftsmen, such as those on strike, and their families resided

Even in subsequent reigns the workers had to take action to receive payments. In the reign of Ramesses XI, the scribe Dhutmose traveled south of Thebes to collect the grain from local temples and farmers for the community, taking along two door-keepers for protection.

Related articles