Empathetic Diary Entries of a Deir El-Medina Tomb Worker

9th day of the 2nd month
What a wonderful day in this glorious town of Deir el-Median, high on the West Bank of the Nile where we skilled tomb workers live. I prayed to the goddesses Tawaret, Hathor and Amun today that the birth of my third child would be as successful as the others, for it is there shall be much happiness and music within our home.
On coming home this evening, I could hear the yelling of my wife in childbirth., I paused to kiss the image of Bes, god of hearth, as I entered the front room and ran up the stairs to the roof where my mother sat reciting incantations to the seven Hathors who preside over the birth. My other 2 sons also sat with her making offerings to Selket, helper of women in childbirth.
<Tab/>My wife was squatted over the two bricks that her feet were balanced on, supported by a midwife on the hastily erected reed hut. Crushed poppy seed was given to her to alleviate the pain of giving birth.
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