Ostraca: Voices from the Place of Truth

An intimate glimpse into New Kingdom Egypt

Athenians meted out harsh punishments to those who fell afoul of prevalent laws or societal norms. If citizens had done something terrible, they ran the risk of being exiled from the city for up to 10 years. An interesting system was put in place whereby citizen peers voted by scratching the name of the charged person on an ostracon (Greek for shard of pottery; plural ostraca), that was later counted. The fate of the accused was sealed if the majority felt he or she deserved to be “ostracized”.

In fact, many early civilizations used ostraca—the ancient equivalent of ‘Post Its’—for a variety of purposes, including as tax receipts, legal documents, and for jotting down miscellaneous bits of information. These scribbled words, writing or drawings have given us an insight into the inner workings of ancient peoples. This brings us to the ancient Egyptians who, being prolific writers and artists, either couldn’t afford the costly papyri sheets, or ran out of them often. The ubiquity of limestone flakes and potsherds was their readymade and ingenious solution.

This finely painted limestone ostracon shows two fighting bulls. Upper Egypt. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Messages From the Ancients

Modern day Deir el-Medina was the location of an ancient Egyptian village—“Set Ma’at” or The Place of Truth, and workmen who lived there were called “Servants in the Place of Truth”. An even older name for this site was “Pa Demi” or The Village.

Highly skilled artisans and craftsmen who worked their magic in the spectacular tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the Eighteenth to Twentieth dynasties inhabited this place. Archaeological remains suggest that at its peak, the community was home to around sixty-eight families comprising builders, scribes, artists and craftsmen. The first datable structures of the village originated during the reign of Thutmose I (c. 1506–1493 BCE) and the final stage of habitation occurred during the Ramesside Period.