Archaeologists discover ancient Egyptian “post-its” revealing real lives of ordinary people

After hours of sifting through fragments and brushing away dust, a rough surface slowly gives way to unexpected finds — a receipt, a school assignment, a horoscope, a wine delivery slip.

In Athribis, Upper Egypt, this task, repeated over the years, has yielded more than 43,000 ostraca to archaeologists, unearthed between 2005 and 2026 by the joint mission of the University of Tübingen and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. To those who view them from a distance, they are merely ordinary fragments. To those who read them, they are voices.

Ostraca were fragments of pottery—and sometimes shards of stone—used as a medium for short texts: accounts, receipts, lists, notes, exercises, or work logs. A sort of “post-it note” that could never be discarded, made from inexpensive materials that were always at hand. The studies also highlight a fact that immediately puts things into perspective: about one-third of the Egyptian documents that have survived to this day come from these media, and in many cases, the fragments were specially prepared for writing on. In Egypt, writing was also an integral part of the meticulous management of daily life.

From pottery shards, receipts, school assignments, wine deliveries, and horoscopes

Founded in the 4th century B.C. and located across from ancient Akhmim, Athribis was an important religious center associated with the lioness goddess Repit. The site is dominated by the temple of Ptolemy XII, a ruler whom many immediately associate with Cleopatra, as he was her father. Excavations have focused for years on this complex and its residential strata; from this site has emerged the largest collection of Egyptian ostraca ever documented, rich enough to surpass Deir el-Medina, the famous workers’ village in the Valley of the Kings.

The strength of these archives lies in their diversity. The oldest fragments are tax receipts from the 3rd century B.C. written in Demotic, the cursive script used for administrative purposes during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The most recent bear Arabic inscriptions dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries A.D. In between, we find Greek, Hieratic, hieroglyphic, and Coptic texts, as well as priestly attestations regarding the quality of animals intended for sacrifice, delivery slips, and simple school exercises. As you read them one after another, Egypt changes its language, its rulers, and its customs, all while leaving its mark on the same piece of terracotta.

Then there are the drawings, which give this material an even more human dimension. At Athribis, people, geometric figures, local deities, and animals such as scorpions, swallows, and shrews—the sacred animal of the god Haroeris—appear. One amphora even bears an inscription recording the “first delivery from the southern vineyard.” Among the unearthed artifacts are also hieratic school texts, including a version of what is known as the “alphabet of birds.” Then came more than 130 Demotic-Hieratic horoscopes, making Athribis the world’s most important site for this type of document.

At this point, writing ceases to appear as a matter reserved solely for palaces or temples. Here, it takes the form of a life that is administered, taught, recorded, corrected, offered to the gods, and entrusted to a makeshift yet extremely durable surface. The ostraca from Athribis cover taxation, schooling, work, religion, astrology, and even the very practical act of recording a wine delivery and going about one’s day. The social history of a place is often revealed through these small, indestructible objects.

The true significance of this discovery became apparent in 2018, when a 20-by-40-meter excavation area was opened to the west of the Temple of Ptolemy XII, before being expanded. Three years ago, the westward expansion brought the total area to 40 by 40 meters, and it was there that approximately 40,000 ostraca were uncovered, at a daily rate of 50 to 100 inscribed pieces. To identify each one, the teams had to go back and examine hundreds of fragments. Along with the shards, mud-brick buildings, living quarters, and storage structures have also been unearthed: very tangible traces of a city that is once again revealing its urban fabric, piece by piece.

This is where another phase of work begins—one that is far less spectacular and much more time-consuming. Each fragment must be photographed, studied, and cataloged, and the entire collection requires comprehensive 3D digitization. This demands specialized tools, computing power, and trained personnel. The idea of also relying on artificial intelligence systems exists and remains appealing, as it could speed up cataloging and digitization; however, the technical cost of training and maintenance remains high. Research therefore continues, primarily with hands, eyes, and patience. These are the very qualities that have allowed these inscriptions to survive to the present day.

Source: University of Tübingen