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Ancient History

This is What Life Was Like for an Egyptian Worker Building the Pyramids

egyptian worker building the pyramids

Ancient Graffiti

Ancient Egyptian graffiti
Ancient Egyptian graffiti, Kom Ombo Temple, Egypt. Rémih (2009).

Stone masons marked the blocks used to build the pyramids. This indicate who cut the stone or otherwise worked on it so administrators could pay the stoneworkers. But pyramid laborers left their own marks in graffiti in the Great Pyramid, near Khufu’s burial chamber.

They would mark their work with the name of their phyles or divisions. This means the Pyramids have been tagged with phyle names like “The Friends of Khufu Gang,” “Vigorous Gang, “Those Who Know Unas,” or the “Drunkards of Menkaure.” Some graffiti included the names of home towns or mascot animals, leaving a personal record of the builders.

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