Born in Besançon, Bruyère devoted a large part of his career to archaeological excavations of Deir el-Medina and the scientific publication of his findings at the site.
Bruyère, who followed the excavations of the English with interest, suggested that they explore a spot they had not yet prospected: the foot of the entrance to Ramesses VI's tomb.
He then faced major technical problems, including the falling of a twenty-ton rock that threatened to destroy what remained of the underlying structures.
Bruyère raised 6,000 cubic metres (210,000 cu ft) of debris without mechanical assistance, and found more than 5000 ostraca in this deposit.
The IFAO has decided to gradually publish Bernard Bruyère's excavation notebooks online, which provide a basic source of information on Deir el-Medina.