Ancient Egyptian Life Revealed Through 18,000 Ostraca
Discovery of Ancient Notepads
Archaeologists excavating the ancient Egyptian city of Athribis have stumbled upon a remarkable discovery: over 18,000 ostraca, inscribed pottery shards that served as “notepads” for the city’s inhabitants. These fragments, ranging from shopping lists to trade records and schoolwork, provide an unprecedented glimpse into the daily lives of people living in Athribis some 2,000 years ago.
Ostraca: A Window into Daily Life
The ostraca, known as “ostraca” in Greek, were a cheaper alternative to papyrus, the traditional writing material of ancient Egypt. To inscribe the shards, users dipped a reed or hollow stick into ink and scratched their messages onto the pottery surface. While most of the ostraca unearthed in Athribis contain writing, the team also discovered pictorial ostraca depicting animals, humans, geometric figures, and deities.
A Treasure Trove of Information
The ostraca offer a wealth of information about various aspects of life in ancient Egypt. They reveal shopping lists detailing purchases of wheat, bread, and other provisions, indicating the economic activities and dietary habits of the city’s residents. Trade records document transactions involving goods and services, shedding light on the commercial networks that existed within Athribis.
School Days in Ancient Egypt
A significant number of the ostraca appear to be linked to an ancient school. Over a hundred feature repetitive inscriptions on both the front and back, suggesting that students who misbehaved were forced to write out lines as a punishment, a practice still used in schools today. Other ostraca contain grammar exercises, arithmetic problems, and even a “bird alphabet,” where each letter was assigned a bird whose name began with that letter.
Multicultural Influences
The ostraca also reflect the multicultural history of Athribis. Around 80% of the fragments are written in demotic, an administrative script used during the reign of Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII. However, Greek, hieroglyphics, hieratic, Arabic, and Coptic (an Egyptian dialect written in the Greek alphabet) also appear, demonstrating the diverse cultural influences that shaped the city.
Unveiling the Past
The discovery of these ostraca is a significant archaeological breakthrough that will enhance our understanding of ancient Egyptian society. By analyzing the texts, researchers hope to gain insights into the economy, trade, education, and daily life of the people of Athribis during the late Ptolemaic and early Roman periods.
Exploring Ancient Structures
The ostraca were found near a series of “multi-story buildings with staircases and vaults” to the west of the main excavation site. Prior to this discovery, the only comparable collection of ostraca found in Egypt was a cache of medical writings unearthed in the workers’ settlement of Deir el-Medineh, near the Valley of the Kings.
Significance of the Discovery
According to Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Egyptian antiquities ministry’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the discovery of the ostraca is “very important” as it sheds light on the economy and trade in Athribis throughout history. “The text reveals the financial transactions of the area’s inhabitants, who bought and sold provisions such as wheat and bread,” he said.
The ostraca from Athribis offer a unique and invaluable source of information about ancient Egyptian life. By studying these inscribed pottery shards, researchers can reconstruct the daily experiences, economic activities, and educational practices of a vibrant and diverse ancient city.
