Jennifer Cromwell The Roman fort Vindolanda is located just south of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. Occupied approximately from 85–370 CE, the fort guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road that ran from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. In addition to the archaeological remains of the site, a large number of Latin texts writtenContinue reading “Birthday Parties on the Roman Frontier”
Author Archives: JCromwell
Imperial Decrees, Animal Sacrifices, and Christian Persecution
Jennifer Cromwell On 17 June 250 CE, Aurelius Sakis had a certificate drawn up that proved he and his children Aion and Heras had participated in the sacrifice of an animal to pagan gods. Two other men, Aurelius Serenus and Aurelius Hermas witness the declaration, confirming that they had actually witnessed the sacrifice. “To thoseContinue reading “Imperial Decrees, Animal Sacrifices, and Christian Persecution”
His Mind is Shrouded in Darkness
Jennifer Cromwell Perhaps one of the best-known aspects of the Egyptian mummification process is that the brain was removed from the body and discarded. The brain’s function and importance were not understood. Instead, the heart was not only recognised as a beating organ that pumped blood, for the ancient Egyptian it was also the sourceContinue reading “His Mind is Shrouded in Darkness”
A Donkey Called Rameses
Jennifer Cromwell In the village of Deir el-Medina, the home of the workmen who built the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, donkeys were big business. While scenes from the New Kingdom show pharaoh riding a horse-drawn chariot into battle, neither horses nor camels played a part in the day-to-day lives of villagersContinue reading “A Donkey Called Rameses”
“Schoolboy, where have you been going so long?”: The Old Babylonian Student and School
Moudhy Al-Rashid Amid the ruins of Nippur is a house, inspiringly named “House F”, made up of a small courtyard with four rooms. The crumbled remains of benches appear in one room and in the courtyard, where there are also three recessed boxes constructed from mud brick. In these boxes were fragments of tablets andContinue reading ““Schoolboy, where have you been going so long?”: The Old Babylonian Student and School”
What is an Ostracon?
Jennifer Cromwell When dealing with ancient texts, the term ostracon refers to pottery sherds and limestone flakes that were reused to write documents. Pottery is by far the more common material used, but some areas show a particular preference for limestone. They are especially well-known from Egypt, but the practice occurs across the ancient world;Continue reading “What is an Ostracon?”
Protecting the Tax-Payer, Protecting the Tax Man
Jennifer Cromwell On 17 April 731, an Egyptian priest John son of the late Victor wrote a declaration for the state treasury, represented by the Muslim official Rashid. He had paid two gold coins (holokottinos in the document) for his village’s taxes, representing the headman, Peter. However, it turned out that he – and so hisContinue reading “Protecting the Tax-Payer, Protecting the Tax Man”
Living (and Dying) in Interesting Times
Luigi Prada At the age of 21 years and 29 days, the sistrum-player Kheredankh died. A fragment of her funerary stela survives and is today housed in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London. Originally, this stela would have been a remarkable artefact of very fine craftsmanship, with a representation of the deceased inContinue reading “Living (and Dying) in Interesting Times”
Thinking about Translations
Jennifer Cromwell What are we doing when we translate ancient texts and who are we doing it for? These questions have been on my mind for a while, and they lie behind a lot of my pieces for Papyrus Stories. Thinking about translation is not anything new. Texts have been translated into other languages sinceContinue reading “Thinking about Translations”
Parental Grief and Child Mortality
Jennifer Cromwell At birth, there was only a 66 per cent chance of celebrating your first birthday: one-third of all new-borns in the ancient world died before reaching that milestone. Once a child reached the age of five, their life-expectancy rose considerably, but the loss of at least one child was something that every parentContinue reading “Parental Grief and Child Mortality”
Papyrus Stories 