Manufacture of bread
This has, at its centre two sub-registers.
The beginning of the manufacture is located at the left extremity, where the granary stands, consisting of three cylindrical silos with pointed tops, resting on a pedestal so that they are not in contact with the ground. At their base is an opening through which grain can flow. The text above (1) them states: "the granary which is in the house of grains, under the leadership of the team of the month"
. The seated scribe (in the top sub-register) is evidently part of the work force. His role is to record the quantity of grain taken by the man crouching at the foot of the front silo (in the bottom sub-register).
At the right-hand side stand two men, face-to-face, using long pestles to grind the grain, to detach the husk from it, and to begin the crushing. Above them, the legend (7) says: "pounding"
, which is done by each man in turn, one regulating the alternation of the pounding, with (5) "come down now!"
, whilst the other confirms this with (6) "I've done it".
At the centre of both sub-registers are some women (note their yellow skin, very different from the brick-red of the men), one of whom is (2) "measuring the grain"
(which has been ground), which is poured for a sifter who is provided with a round sieve to remove the husk from the actual grain, (3) : "sifting the grain"
. This followed by grinding into flour, (4) "grinding the grain".
Register 3
This is again, in part, made up of two sub-registers, divided into two more or less equal parts by a man standing near the centre at the height of the full register. His image is partially destroyed. He is, according to the text (2) above him: "the person responsible of the workshop"
, who leans forwards on to a staff which is invisible today, this is the classic stance of the supervisors to the Old Kingdom.
On the left pair of sub-registers, six women are grinding the grain on their millstones, which has come from the previous operations and which is in containers and bags opposite them. At the right edge of this section, two women (one in each sub-register) seated on the floor and who are occupied with (1) "sifting the flour"
. Their oblong sifter separates the fine flour from the coarser flour, which will be returned for further grinding, and so forth.
On the right-hand side of the person in charge, two other women sift the flour whilst the following four are occupied with grinding. At the extreme right, the two last are clothed in dresses with shoulder straps (all others have a naked chest). This pair collect the finished flour and put it into containers.
Register 2
This register covers the baking of the bread. The Egyptians could bake bread in an oven or directly over embers. But most of the time, they used a wide terracotta vessel to mold the bread "bedja" (there was also a "setchet" mold, to be discussed below, and an "aparet" mold). This container was first heated, then, it was placed on the ground and filled with dough, whilst a second mold, placed upside-down covered the first. [N.B: an analogous utensil named "the diable" existed which was used to cook potatoes or chestnuts]. The scene is represented as follows: ten pots (and not nine as is written in the literature, based on Montet) are built into pyramid form around a central hearth. This is stirred by the seated woman with her right hand (provided with a poker), whilst protecting her face with the left hand. Above her, the text (1) states: "heating the oven"
. Standing in front of her is another woman who arranges the pots, openings downwards, with her text (2) : "checking the oven"
. On the right of the register, can be seen a similar scene with the same legends, but this time it is a man who stacks the pots and also a man who stirs the embers of the fire.
The middle of the register is again sub-divided. On the lower sub-register, on the left, a wide pot-bellied vessel contains (3) "dough"
. The woman bending with her back to it, her hair enclosed in fabric wrap, is occupied (4) "pouring the dough"
into a hot mold which has come out of the oven. Opposite her, another, but with a close cropped wig, is occupied (5) "kneading the dough"
. Another couple carry out a similar action behind them, the one on the left pours into a wide container on the ground a preparation with the name of "hesa", of which Montet demonstrated that it refers to leavened bread. Finally, the worker on the right (4) is "pouring the dough"
in the bedja pots. Two among them are closed, they contain the dough which is therefore already cooking.
In the upper sub-register, of the first two women, the first bending and the other seated, check with the help of a stick to see if the bread is cooked; the action is commented thus, (6) "checking the bread"
. Following this, two seated men strike the bottom of a pot, as the text (7) states: "making the bead fall"
, which will then be placed in a basket.
As a small aside, the designer of the wall has included, on the left side of the upper sub-register, a child who feasts on a fragment of freshly baked bread.
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