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 parent experienced. While … More Parental Grief and Child Mortality
“I greet my Father Athanasios. I spoke to you about the medical book. I often wanted to come south, but looking after here has not allowed me to come south. I wanted to come south, (but) the roads prevented me. Now, please send it to me, either (by) Pmoute or give it to Aaron and … More Sickness, Treatments, and Medical Books in Late Antique Egyptian Villages
*GUEST POST by Luigi Prada (see his bio here) On 26th April of the 24th year of reign of an unspecified Roman emperor (probably Commodus, which equals the year 184 AD), a modest Egyptian priest named Bes, son of his namesake and a lady called Tadinebhau, died in Pernebwadj, a provincial town in Middle Egypt—then a remote … More One-way Tickets to the Netherworld: Mummy Labels and Inscribed Mummy Shrouds
*Guest post by Eline Scheerlinck. This blog post was originally posted on the website of the European Research Council project, “Embedding Conquest”, and was reposted on the Leiden Islam Blog. With many thanks to the author and the original hosts for allowing the story to be reposted here. Have you ever wondered what the Arab … More The Governor’s Orders: Part One
In the ancient world, education – learning to read and write – wasn’t a right and was accessible by only a small number of people. Only 5–10% of the population was literate. But what does this mean, what constitutes being literate? Does being able to write basic sentences fit the bill, or do you need to be … More Pay After Reading: The Cost of Education in Late Antique Egyptian Villages
On the 29 August 766 CE, a woman named Tachel daughter of Sophia from Luxor (ancient Apê) donated her son Athanasius to a local monastery, the monastery of Apa Phoibammon at Deir el-Bahri. “In this current 5thindiction year, an infant boy was born to me, the woman and free person Tachel, in his seventh month. … More “If God saves him from death”: Donation of a boy to a Coptic monastery
At some point during the third century CE, a slave-owner wrote a notice of a runaway enslaved man. The tall, thin Egyptian man in his early thirties – a weaver by trade – had gone missing and a reward was out for his return. The description of him, given by his owners, is particularly unflattering: “[A reward … More “… like he’s somebody …”: Runaway Slaves in Roman Egypt
I recently bought my first ever Playmobil set: Egyptian Warrior with Camel. It’s only taken me thirty odd years. But I can’t resist a camel. And this kit evokes one of the key images that comes to mind when we think of ancient Egypt: the quintessential image of camels in front of the pyramids. Camels, … More Camel, O Camel: On Camels in Ancient Egypt
*GUEST POST by Ágnes T. Mihálykó (see her bio here) What did late antique Egyptians sing about at Christmas? Angels, shepherds, and the Virgin Mary, of course. Angels have the main role in what appears to be the earliest manuscript of a Christmas carol, preserved in Greek on a papyrus from the city of Hermopolis … More An Egyptian Christmas Carol
*GUEST POST by Ágnes T. Mihálykó (see her bio here) What did a young man in the fourth century CE wish from life? Not much different from what young men today might desire: professional success, favour with others, and, of course, women. His means of attaining his goals were, however, not that familiar to … More How to be Successful in Life (Fourth-Century Style)
