Carving and decorating a royal tomb , even a large one , was a major undertaking but not a particularly time consuming one . Even with a small labor force working on a tomb , it may have taken only a few years to complete .
The workmen who dug the royal tombs were divided into two work teams , a "left gang" and a "right gang" of about ten men each , supervised by a foreman . Using simple metal chisels , wooden mallets , and chert hand axes , they cut through the soft limestone bedrock at a fairly rapid rate .
The men worked eight hour a day , for ten days , then enjoyed a two-day "weekend" . As the quarrymen dug further into the hillside , other specialists followed behind , checking that the walls were vertical , their corners cut at 90 degrees , and smoothing their surfaces . Either plasterers or scribes came next , outlining the scenes and texts to be carved and painted .
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