History's First Documented Employees

By: Ali Abu-Dashish, Taarek Refaat

CAIRO, Mar.1(SEE)- Since the beginning of the first dynasty, employees began documenting their professions in the ancient Egyptian state. Their tombs, in the areas of Saqqara, Helwan, and elsewhere, included artworks and biographies documenting major aspects and critical stations in their lives.

Director of the Antiquities Museum at Bibliotheca Alexandrina Hussein Abdel Basir affirmed that employees were the basic foundation of the ancient Egyptian state. The system in which the government operated improved slightly over the centuries. However, the fundamental pattern was set in the First Dynasty, where the king ruled over the country with a vizier, government officials, governors, and mayors.

The pattern also consisted of priests, artists, physicians, civil servants, and military personnel with different administrative ranks.

Minister "Hem Ka" meaning spiritual servant lived under the reign of King Den of the First Dynasty. He was one of the oldest and most distinguished employees in ancient Egypt. The tomb of Hem Ka was discovered in Sakkara along with tablets of stone, copper, wood, and ivory decorated with exquisite pieces of alabaster.

Inside the Egyptian museum, there is also a display of the Third Dynasty statue of the peace offering priest "Hetep di ef" in a kneeling position with his hands on his knees. Discovered in 1888, The statue is one of the first examples of private sculptures in the old kingdom.

Even though the statue is of contemporary art from the 3rd dynasty, the first three kings of the Second dynasty names are engraved on the back of his right shoulder.

The world’s first documented physician and dentist "Hesy-Ra" meaning blessed by Ra served under king Djoser during the Third dynasty. More than 4,500 years ago, he held the title Chief of Dentists and Chief of the King’s Scribes.

Hesy-Ra tomb contains majestic wall paintings and spectacular wood carvings, including exceptional relief panels made from imported Lebanese cedar. It was discovered in 1861 and later brought to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.

At the Giza plateau, near the Menkaure pyramid, the tomb of a known employee "Deben" was discovered. The King's visit to the construction site of the pyramid was documented on the tomb's walls. Symbols show the pharaoh accompanied by a naval commander and two high priests of Ptah. Deben biography is one of the earliest records of narrative art in the Fourth Dynasty.

The traces and biographies of employees in ancient Egypt shed light on the social, political and economic history since the beginning of the Pharaonic era till the end of the dynastic period in 30 BCE.