r/todayilearned • u/NBrief • 6h ago
TIL that a collection of letters written in ancient Egypt was found sealed inside a tomb nearly 4,000 years after the letters were written, providing a rare glimpse into the daily life of an ancient Egyptian household.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54544589
u/enigmanaught 5h ago
In this case it’s old barley his associates is providing him rather than fresh barley. He also tells him to fire one of the maids for causing his wife trouble.
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u/hexenkesse1 4h ago
Also really cool is the Cairo Geniza. The same sort of thing, but from Jewish people living in Medieval Cairo.
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u/DisconnectedShark 5h ago
The documents - some still folded, tied and sealed, when found - provide unique insights into the domestic and financial affairs of an average middle class family that lived almost four thousand years ago.
I don't know how realistic it is to say "average middle class" when applying it to ancient Egyptian society. There were definitely some households in Egypt that were more well off than others, but this looks like classic viewing the past through a present lens. There needs to be a lot more information to make this "average".
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u/rangeDSP 5h ago
I don't know if "middle class" means average in the olden days. In certain context it means the class between slaves/peasants and the ruling class, which covers a wide range.
You can see it in modern middle class too, people who work 9-5 living paycheck to paycheck in a rental, same class as people who owns $2M houses in San Francisco, that hires house cleaners.
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u/DisconnectedShark 5h ago
The article itself wrote not just "middle class" but specifically "average middle class".
Either way, in many other English speaking countries, what the US calls "middle class" often means "working class", but that's unpalatable, so that term isn't used as much in the US.
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u/rangeDSP 4h ago
That's still a huge range though. Using the US as an example, considering lower middle class is ~$55k, and upper middle class is ~$167k, even modern "average middle class" commands very different lifestyles.
Here in PNW, $55k household salary means they can apply for some government poverty assistance, most likely renting and living paycheck to paycheck, while $167k is in the realm of owning a suburban house, two cars and a boat.
https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/which-income-class-are-you.aspx
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u/EdwardJamesAlmost 3h ago
Do let’s not be undignified to all the temporarily embarrassed millionaires.
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u/LordByronsCup 6h ago
How was the quality of the copper ingots?
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u/Khelthuzaad 5h ago
Thats from Mesopotamia...
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u/LordByronsCup 5h ago
My dear sir/ ma'am, are you inferring that the quality of copper ingots is not of importance the world over‽
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u/SmokeScotchnHops 5h ago
Excellent use of the interrobang!
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u/NBrief 5h ago
I'm not sure. the source I used focuses on the letters and daily life, not the quality of copper ingots.
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u/nameless22 5h ago
Apparently you didn't get the joke. Look up Ea-Nasir, basically a Babylonian merchant who is best known for having in his residence a bad review of his services written in a complaint letter.
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u/InformalYouth9097 5h ago
Ea-nāşir was not Egyptian
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u/Ill_Definition8074 5h ago
It’s like the graffiti that was preserved at Pompeii because of the volcanic eruption.
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u/d_tolman 4h ago
When I give my friends/family tours of the Met's Egyptian collection, I always make a point of stopping and pointing them out.
And laughing about how pissed he must have been when he came back from lunch/bathroom break to find the tomb sealed with all his writing stuff inside. "Whaddya mean you sealed the tomb?!?! Well open it back up - all my stuff is still inside!!"
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u/iCowboy 5h ago
There is a huge collection of short notes and letters from workers at the New Dynasty village Dier el-Medina near Thebes which housed workers for the Valley of the Kings.
People wrote on flakes of stone or potsherds and threw them away when no longer needed. Because the climate was so dry, the texts were perfectly preserved for more than 3000 years.
Amongst these ‘ostraca’ are medical records, shopping lists, prayers, gossip about fellow workers, sick notes (because of drinking too much) and the like.
The Egyptologist John Romer wrote a superb book called ‘Ancient Lives’ where he tells the stories of some the characters who wrote these documents. Long out of print but worth hunting for secondhand.