Archaeologists discover 43,000 pottery fragments revealing the daily routine of ancient Egyptians

Archaeologists are still excavating different parts of Egypt, and even after all these years, they still manage to find something new every time. Athribis is an ancient city located near the modern city of Sohag in Upper Egypt. It was found a little later than the other Egyptian sites, but it has a treasure trove of its own. Recently, archaeologists found 43,000 inscribed pottery pieces called 'ostraca' as reported by the Tübingen Athribis Project. The ostraca date from the 3rd century BCE to the 11th century CE and are now one of the biggest collections of daily writing material from ancient Egypt. 

This excavation was spearheaded by the University of Tübingen in collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The ostraca contained the daily routines and social structures of the ancient people of Egypt. This included their tax receipts, account details, delivery logs, personal notes, and student exercises. It also contained certificates from priests confirming animals for sacrifice. The ostraca not only showed the daily life of the ancient Egyptians, but also their vast linguistic knowledge. The text on the broken fragments was written in Demotic, Ptolemaic, Roman, Greek, Coptic, Arabic, hieratic, and also in hieroglyphics. 

The broken fragments also showed that ancient Egyptians were familiar with astrology and astronomy. Archaeologists found more than 130 demotic-hieratic horoscopes, with detailed information relating to birth predications, as well as beliefs in the stars and planets. The ostraca were records of how people worked in ancient Egypt, how they communicated with each other, how they studied and learned, and much more. It was a lens that offered a view into how ordinary people lived their lives, instead of just focusing on the royals.

The major part of the ancient city of Athribis is yet to be excavated. It extends over 30 hectares and is 7km southwest of Sohag. The University of Tübingen described that the city of Athribis consisted of quarries, settlements, a necropolis, and a temple complex. William Flinders Petrie was one of the archaeologists who was responsible for major excavations in the city from 1906 to 1907. Later on, the Egyptian Antiquities Authority joined in from 1982 to 1997. More recently, the Egyptian-German mission also excavated the sites between 2003 and 2012.

Lastly, the ancient city of Athribis has an open museum that is open to visitors. You can see parts of the temple's front, including the stone blocks from the facade, a few remnants of the entrance area, the cornice, and doorsteps that are propped up by columns with crowns at the top. The crowns are shaped like the goddess Hathor. For people planning to visit the site, the tickets for foreigners are 150 EGP ($2.83) for adults and 75 EGP ($0.85) for students.

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