judge in a dispute concerning a donkey.^176 A “scribe of the mat,”
whose function is obscure, appears rather often in New Kingdom
texts.^177 In the Deir el-Medina texts, scribes sometimes serve as mid-
dlemen. In O. Berlin 10629, for example, a daughter declares that
her father had presented to her certain objects, and that “it was the
scribe PN who gave them to me.”^178 The Royal Scribe intervenes
on behalf of one party in the Mes case and plays a significant role
in collecting evidence.^1792.4.7.1 The qenbet courts had other subordinates to execute their
directives.^180 An “officer of the court” made known the shares to the
descendents of Neshi in the Mes affair.^181 So, too, in O. Gardiner
67, there is the “apparitor of the court,”^182 who could confiscate
property in its name. Allam also mentions an “attendant of the court”
(“msw n qnb.t), who is authorized to carry out house searches or
seizure of goods.^1832.4.8 Justice was often apparently administered at a gate, forecourt,
or portico, presumably of a temple.^184 Indeed, one well-attested term
for “judge,” w≈'-ryt, seems to mean “one who judges at the gate.”^185
There is little specific textual or archaeological evidence for court-
houses.^186 The “enclosure/fortress (¢tm) of the tomb” often appears
in the Deir el-Medina texts. McDowell has suggested that this enclo-
sure, not yet archaeologically identified, may be assumed to have
been where the court often met, even if not explicitly mentioned.^187(^176) Allam, Hieratische Ostraka.. ., 88–89, 228, and Verfahrensrecht.. ., 105.
(^177) See Allam, “Papyrus Turin 2021”; Van den Boorn, Vizier.. ., 159; Gabella,
Tomb-chapel.. ., 27.
(^178) Allam, Hieratische Ostraka.. ., 28.
(^179) Allam, “Remarks.. .,” 109.
(^180) See Allam, “Quenebete.. .,” 37–38. See also McDowell, Jurisdiction.. ., 216–19.
For other minor officials sometimes involved in legal matters in Deir el-Medina,
see ’ernÿ, Community.. ., 245–48, and McDowell, Jurisdiction.. ., 47–49, 55–65.
(^181) Gaballa, Tomb-chapel.. ., 22.
(^182) Allam, Hieratische Ostraka.. ., 166.
(^183) O. IFAO 1277, in Allam, Hieratische Ostraka.. ., 196–97; O. Nash 1, ibid.,
215; Allam, “Egyptian Law Courts.. .,” 110; McDowell, Jurisdiction.. ., 49–51.
(^184) Van den Boorn, “W≈'-ryt,” 13; Helck, “Der Papyrus Berlin P 3047,” 65–66;
Lurje, Studien.. ., 81–82; Théodoridès, “Jugement...”
(^185) Van den Boorn, “W≈'-ryt.”
(^186) P. Turin 1977, Wente, Letters.. ., 46. The legal case of Mes mentions, e.g.,
a “Hall of Judgment of the Pharaoh”; see Gaballa, Tomb-chapel.. ., 22–25.
(^187) McDowell, Jurisdiction.. ., 93–105. See also Janssen, Village Varia.. ., 4–5.
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