66:
310:
One ostracon describes how many of these deliveries were unfulfilled, where five people's rations were undelivered, totaling to four and three quarters sacks or three hundred and seventy five liters of water gone undelivered. On multiple occasions, the citizens of Deir el-Medina attempted to dig a well, presumably due to their displacement toward the water carriers, but to no avail. The first attempt was during the fifteenth year of
Ramesses III where a hole was dug twenty two meters into the ground, but with no luck. Before digging another, they established the water table sat at thirty one and a half meters, and in a desperate attempt they dug twenty meters past that, to fifty two meters, but again it was futile. With no water in the well, it was used as a dump where hundreds more ostraca were found.
205:
186:
81:
50:
784:
317:
between people were closer to trades than modern transactions. Actual money would rarely change hands, as it was more of a measure of worth for an object and when making a deal, trades between people would consider both the worth of each ends of the trade and whether the items presented were needed.
309:
to a central location in the village where each household could receive a quarter to a half of a sack which would amount to ninety six to one hundred and fifteen liters of water per house. The typical household would have six residents, each would get fifteen to twenty liters of water for drinking.
150:
or even small pieces of stone that have writing scratched into them. Usually these are considered to have been broken off before the writing was added; ancient people used the cheap, plentiful, and durable broken pieces of pottery around them as a convenient medium to write on for a wide variety of
232:
nature such as messages, prescriptions, receipts, students' exercises, and notes. Pottery sherds, limestone flakes, and thin fragments of other stone types were used, but limestone sherds, being flaky and of a lighter colour, were most common. Ostraca were typically small, covered with just a few
289:
The ostraca from Deir el-Medina also differed in their circulation. Magical spells and remedies were widely distributed among the workmen; there are even several cases of spells being sent from one worker to another, with no “trained” intermediary. Written medical texts appear to have been much
267:. These ostraca have shown medical, and documentary records, some of which provide information on how water was provided, and how economic transactions were carried out. The extreme variety of information on ostraca found presents information that would be lost if it weren't written down.
244:
is immense. The combination of their physical nature and the
Egyptian climate have preserved texts, from the medical to the mundane, which in other cultures were lost. These can often serve as better witnesses of everyday life than literary treatises preserved in libraries.
294:, indicating that the trained physician mixed the more complicated remedies himself. There are also several documents that show the writer sending for medical ingredients, but it is unknown whether these were sent according to a physician's prescription, or to fulfill a
215:
depicted on this limestone fragment bears the finesse of a master's hand. The two arms, however, are rendered more crudely. It is likely that a master used this ostracon to teach his student, and the work of both individuals can be seen on the piece.
163:, when the decision at hand was to banish or exile a certain member of society, citizen peers would cast their vote by writing the name of the person on the shard of pottery; the vote was counted and, if unfavorable, the person was
353:, he lived adjacent to Thoth's sanctuary at the entrance to the North Catacomb and worked as a "proto-therapist", advising and comforting clients. He transferred his divinely-inspired dreams onto ostraca. The Dream Ostraca are 65
65:
318:
Conveniently, most ostraca found in Deir el-Medina were on economics and provide information on what these trades looked like. One such ostracon details a trade with one side offering an ox that was 120
440:. The inscription has yet to be deciphered, however, some words, such as king, slave, and judge have been translated. The sherd was found about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem at the Elah Fortress in
228:
Anything with a smooth surface could be used as a writing surface. Generally discarded material, ostraca were cheap, readily available, and therefore frequently used for writings of an
436:
from the Old
Testament, about 3,000 years ago. Carbon dating of the ostracon and analysis of the pottery have dated the inscription to be about 1,000 years older than the
432:, discovered what he says to be the earliest known Hebrew text. This text was written on an ostracon sherd; Garfinkel believes this sherd dates to the time of
342:
birds interred (as well as cats, dogs, rams, and lions). This 2nd-century BC site contained extensive pottery debris from the site offerings of the pilgrims.
301:
Six people were assigned to Deir el-Medina as "water carriers" who were tasked to bring sacks of water to the village. Having a system in between a central
366:
794:
233:
words or a small picture drawn in ink; but the tomb of the craftsman
Sennedjem at Deir el Medina contained an enormous ostracon inscribed with the
177:. Scholars have suggested that shards from a vote may have been re-used for this purpose, to curse the exiled individual by soiling their name.
921:
322:
and the other offering two jars of fat, five smooth cloth tunics, one thin cloth kilt, and one hide which when put altogether were 130 Deben.
338:'s tomb; instead, the extensive catacombs of animal mummies were uncovered. Apparently it was a pilgrimage site, with as many as 1½ million
956:
836:
817:
630:
599:
574:
254:
73:, son of Hippocrates (inscription: ΜΕΓΑΚΛΕΣ ΗΙΠΠΟΚΡΑΤΟΣ), 487 BC. On display in the Ancient Agora Museum in Athens, housed in the
926:
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458:
204:
429:
286:” who saw patients and prescribed treatments, and a “scorpion charmer” who specialized in magical cures for scorpion stings.
946:
961:
951:
282:. Nevertheless, the records at Deir el-Medina indicate some level of division, as records from the village note both a “
887:
270:
Like other
Egyptian communities, the workmen and inhabitants of Deir el-Medina received care through a combination of
882:
275:
271:
538:
931:
895:
842:. (Specifically, "1964–71: The Sacred Animal Necropolis, Saqqara"; and "1964–65: A Statue Finds Its Face".)
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are believed to have been ostraca, and some potsherds resembling the lots have been found.
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and door to door deliveries, the water carriers filled sacks and delivered them from the
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319:
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174:
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49:
658:
Janssen, Jac. J. (1980). "Absence from Work by the
Necropolis Workmen of Thebes".
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Greek
Ostraca from Chersonesos, Crete: Ostraca Cretica Chersonesi (O.Cret.Chers.)
295:
209:
135:
131:
36:
32:
473:
433:
306:
241:
523:
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Emery's excavations uncovered the "Dream
Ostraca", created by a scribe named
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Exile, Ostracism, and
Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece
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221:
194:
169:
139:
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40:
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Hesperia: The
Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
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purposes, mostly very short inscriptions, but in some cases very long.
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618:
Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies
592:
Ancient Letters And the New Testament: A Guide to Context and Exegesis
499:
444:, the earliest known fortified city of the biblical period of Israel.
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for a period of ten years from the city, thus giving rise to the term
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58:
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Parkinson, Richard; Diffie, W.; Fischer, M.; Simpson, R.S. (1999),
787: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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350:
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147:
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provide a deeply compelling view into the inner workings of the
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Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries: A Year-by-Year Chronicle
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105:
848:
Village Life in Ancient Egypt: Laundry Lists and Love Songs
892:, the research publication of the Egyptian Study Society.
569:, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 78,
810:
Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone, and Decipherment
539:"This Is How They Wiped Themselves in Ancient Rome"
53:Ostrakon inscribed with "Kimon of Miltiades", for
290:rarer, with only a handful of ostraca containing
621:, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, p.
762:"Archeologist finds 3,000-year old Hebrew text"
708:
706:
896:Archeologist discovers 3000-year old ostracon
8:
812:, Berkeley: University of California Press,
330:From 1964 to 1971, Bryan Emery excavated at
883:Deir el-Medina ostraca in the Petrie Museum
313:Economics were unique in Deir el-Medina as
173:. Broken pottery shards were also used for
31:. For the similarly pronounced city on the
560:
558:
367:List of artifacts significant to the Bible
697:
685:
645:
424:In October 2008, Israeli archaeologist,
357:texts written on pottery and limestone.
64:
46:Broken piece of pottery with inscription
860:, Princeton: Princeton University Press
594:, Baylor University Press, p. 45,
490:
181:Egyptian limestone and potsherd ostraca
756:
754:
500:"The Origin and Purposes of Ostracism"
901:Prize Find: Oldest Hebrew Inscription
84:Ancient Greek ostraca voting for the
7:
803:. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
793:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
25:
850:, Oxford: Oxford University Press
660:Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur
255:Medical Ostraca of Deir el-Medina
782:
417:Additionally, the lots drawn at
189:One of four official letters to
459:Ostracon of Senemut and Djehuty
565:Donadoni, Sergio, ed. (1997),
430:Hebrew University of Jerusalem
240:The importance of ostraca for
1:
922:Archaeological artefact types
831:, London: Thames and Hudson,
537:Silver, Carly (2020-07-24).
126:, usually broken off from a
957:Ancient Egyptian technology
903:Biblical Archaeology Review
872:(Tyche. Supplementband; 6).
590:Klauck, Hans-Josef (2006),
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252:
115:
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827:Reeves, Nicholas (2000),
615:Chauveau, Michel (2000),
259:The 91 ostraca found at
927:Egyptian artefact types
866:Litinas, Nikos (2008),
856:Forsdyke, Sara (2005),
846:McDowell, A.G. (2002),
361:Biblical period ostraca
498:Kagan, Donald (1961).
249:Deir el-Medina Ostraca
225:
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197:ostracon, in Egyptian
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27:For the journals, see
800:Catholic Encyclopedia
349:A devotee of the god
326:Saqqara Dream Ostraca
207:
188:
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947:Inscriptions by type
870:, Vienna: Holzhausen
730:McDowell 2002, p. 74
721:McDowell 2002, 62-63
712:McDowell 2002, 65–66
375:have been found at:
373:Biblical archaeology
962:Egyptian inventions
952:Textual scholarship
739:McDowell 2002, p.75
371:Famous ostraca for
193:Khay copied onto a
768:, October 30, 2008
347:Hor of Sebennytos.
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218:Walters Art Museum
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795:Christian Ostraka
469:Satirical ostraca
272:medical treatment
29:Ostraka (journal)
16:(Redirected from
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90:Themistocles
69:Ostrakon of
543:JSTOR Daily
296:home remedy
265:New Kingdom
210:New Kingdom
132:earthenware
37:Caspian Sea
33:Volga River
937:Papyrology
911:Categories
777:References
666:: 127–152.
548:2022-11-19
474:Soleto Map
434:King David
365:See also:
307:floodplain
253:See also:
242:Egyptology
61:statesman.
524:0018-098X
284:physician
230:ephemeral
222:Baltimore
195:limestone
170:ostracism
155:Ostracism
146:refer to
142:context,
130:or other
113:, plural
92:in 482 BC
41:Astrakhan
35:near the
917:Ostracon
464:Potsherd
448:See also
384:Tel Arad
199:Hieratic
111:ostrakon
107:ὄστρακον
98:ostracon
71:Megacles
59:Athenian
18:Ostrakon
967:Pottery
791::
428:of the
403:Samaria
389:Lachish
355:Demotic
336:Imhotep
332:Saqqara
303:cistern
278:, and
213:pharaoh
144:ostraca
124:pottery
120:ostraka
116:ὄστρακα
835:
816:
629:
598:
573:
522:
419:Masada
276:prayer
191:vizier
165:exiled
148:sherds
39:, see
485:Notes
382:, or
351:Thoth
320:Deben
280:magic
102:Greek
57:, an
55:Cimon
833:ISBN
814:ISBN
627:ISBN
596:ISBN
571:ISBN
520:ISSN
340:ibis
208:The
128:vase
797:".
766:CNN
512:doi
410:at
401:at
159:In
138:or
96:An
88:of
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100:(
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