Jenny Cromwell “I did not murder anyone, and I also prove it.” So states the soldier Flavius Menas in a report of legal proceedings dated 558/9 CE from Aphrodito (modern Kom Ishgau). He stands accused of murdering two men: Victor and Herakleios. The report records the testimony against Menas by people representing each of theContinue reading “Murder on the Nile”
Author Archives: JCROMWELL
‘My heart, don’t act so stupidly!’: An Ancient Egyptian Love Song
Jenny Cromwell Picture the scene: from across the way, a young man spots a young woman who takes his breath away. She is exquisite, with dazzling eyes and sweet lips. Every part of her body is the epitome of feminine beauty. She is beyond compare. But his love is only from afar. A papyrus todayContinue reading “‘My heart, don’t act so stupidly!’: An Ancient Egyptian Love Song”
A Coptic Remedy Against Sleepless Nights for New Parents
Guest post by Ágnes Mihálykó There are some problems in human life that are timeless. One of them is sleep deprivation caused by a teething baby. I have had my fair share of it recently, and on one sleepless night when just nothing seemed to work, desperate I remembered a fourth-century Coptic recipe to aidContinue reading “A Coptic Remedy Against Sleepless Nights for New Parents”
Urine, Torn Clothes, and Ethnic Tensions in Ptolemaic Fayum
By Jennifer Cromwell On 11 May 218 BCE, a Greek man living in the Fayum was walking through the streets of the village Psya. Suddenly, from above a shower of human effluence poured down upon him, drenching him to the bone. The culprit? An Egyptian woman. But was it an accident or a malicious actContinue reading “Urine, Torn Clothes, and Ethnic Tensions in Ptolemaic Fayum”
Death by Nile: Punishing Policemen at Deir el-Medina
By Jennifer Cromwell Three papyri from the village Deir el-Medina, dating to the late New Kingdom, reveal a shocking event: the punishment of two policemen – medjay – with death by drowning in the Nile. Each letter is written from “the general of Pharaoh”, by his scribe Qenkhnum, to three people: the Scribe of the Necropolis,Continue reading “Death by Nile: Punishing Policemen at Deir el-Medina”
Settling Disputes, Casting Lots
By Jennifer Cromwell Families in late antique Egypt regularly fought over property rights. At least, that’s the impression given by the textual record from some villages, among which a common category of legal documents is those that record settlements of disputes. It is not always clear, though, if the disputes were hostile or simply thatContinue reading “Settling Disputes, Casting Lots”
“Carrying on the art”: Hieroglyph Carvers in Roman Egypt
The year 2022 marks the 200-year anniversary of the modern decipherment of hieroglyphs by Jean-François Champollion. While hieroglyphs are synonymous with ancient Egypt, they continued to be used throughout the centuries of Ptolemaic and Roman rule, although in increasingly restricted areas of use and with fewer and fewer people bearing the knowledge to produce them.Continue reading ““Carrying on the art”: Hieroglyph Carvers in Roman Egypt”
The First Recorded Strike in History
By Jenny Cromwell In year 29 of the reign of Rameses III, the workmen of the village of Deir el-Medina – state workers who were responsible for the construction of the royal tombs – went on strike. Consistent late payments and poor working conditions forced them to lay down their tools and walk out ofContinue reading “The First Recorded Strike in History”
Love in an Orchard
Jennifer Cromwell The scene: young lovers escape the heat of the early afternoon soon for the shade of an orchard. Concealed among the shadows, sheltered under the trees, they lose themselves in each other. Nobody is present to witness their tryst, except for the trees. From the New Kingdom (ca. 1,539–1,075 BCE) survives a smallContinue reading “Love in an Orchard”
A Fake Patchwork of Genuine Fragments
Jennifer Cromwell At a quick glance, a Coptic document today in the collection of the Università di Genova (Italy) looks pretty standard. There is some damage at the edges and a few small holes in the middle. But, otherwise, it looks quite well preserved. However, on closer inspection, things aren’t as they seem. While theContinue reading “A Fake Patchwork of Genuine Fragments”
Papyrus Stories 