Ancient Egypt’s “Voluntary Slaves”
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
COPENHAGEN—Kim Ryholt of the University of Copenhagen has been collecting and studying Egyptian slave contracts written on papyrus, which are thought to have been looted from a garbage pit in the ancient temple city of Tebtunis. In the 2,200-year-old documents, people signed themselves and their families over as temple servants, even paying a monthly “slave fee.” Ryholt thinks that these slaves may have been people without social status who chose temple slavery over heavier forced labor.
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Panama’s golden grave, Viking dental exams, an unusual papyrus preservative, playing games in ancient Kenya, and a venerable Venetian church
Within a knight’s grasp
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