Ramose was an ancient Egyptian scribe and artisan who lived in

Deir el-Medina Deir el-Medina ( arz, دير المدينة), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of ...

on the west bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, opposite Thebes, during the reigns of

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...

. He held the position of Scribe of the Tomb, the highest administrative position for a scribe in Deir el-Medina, from around years 5 to 38 of Ramesses II's reign. He was buried in a

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immuremen ...

in the village necropolis. Ramose created a total of three tombs for himself in the

Theban Necropolis The Theban Necropolis is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes ( Luxor) in Upper Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of the Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom. Mortuary temples * Deir el-Bah ...

, TT7, TT212 and TT250.

Family

Ramose was the son of the retainer Amenemheb and the Lady Kakaia. He was married to the Lady Mutemwia (Wia), daughter of the royal scribe Huy and Nofretkau. Despite extensive offerings to fertility gods like

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

, Min and

Taweret In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret (also spelled Taurt, Tuat, Tuart, Ta-weret, Tawaret, Twert and Taueret, and in Greek, Θουέρις – Thouéris, Thoeris, Taouris and Toeris) is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and ...

, Ramose and Wia were unable to have a biological child. Ramose is thought to have adopted the scribe Qenhirkhopeshef so that the latter could inherit his estate.Benedict G. Davies, Who's Who at Deir el-Medina: A Prosopographic Study of the Royal Workmen’s Community, Nederlands Instituut Voor het nabije Oosten, Leiden, 1999, pp 79-88

Career

Ramose started out training as a scribe at one of the Theban schools. According to a stela in the Bankes collection he served as Treasury chief in the House of Menkheperure, chief of the administration in the house of the superintendent of the seal, scribe who reckons the cattle of

Amun Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as ( Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → ( Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egypt ...

- Ra, assistant-scribe of the correspondence of the hereditary prince. Černý first posed the theory that the hereditary prince was the future

, but later considered the possibility that the title referred to the famous Amenhotep Son of Hapu. An ostracon records the fact that Ramose was appointed as Scribe in the Place of Truth in year 5, the 3rd month of Akhet, day 10 of the reign of Ramesses II. This appointment was likely made at the recommendation of the

Vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

Paser who was responsible for all appointments in Deir el-Medina. Paser and Ramose would work together for many years and were responsible for installing a cult sanctuary – ''the khenu'' – for the living god at the sanctuary of

. He was active until at least year 38. Because of the multiple tombs and numerous monuments he left behind, Ramose is estimated to be the wealthiest person who had ever lived in Deir el-Medina up until that point.

References

Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt 13th-century BC Egyptian people Ancient Egyptian scribes {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub

Family

Career

See also

References