Object of the Month

SB XXIV 16074 (P. 25099) Nowadays one of the first documents of life is a birth certificate. This was different in ancient Egypt where birth certificates were not compulsory. Nonetheless there are preserved birth announcements which are quite similar to… Read More→

BGU XIII 2217 (P. 25120 R) What do two silver crowns, a couple of bronze statues, lampstands and war trumpets have in common? They all appear in a papyrus from Egypt dating back around 1850 years. What at first sounds… Read More→

BGU I 266 (P. 7107) When Emperor Caracalla went to war against the Parthian King Artabanus IV in 216 AD, he needed not only soldiers but also animals for the cavalry and transporting heavy loads. The Roman army resembled a… Read More→

BGU II 647 (P. 6948 Kol. II) Anyone who thinks bureaucracy is a modern invention has underestimated the Greeks and Romans. Almost 2,000 years ago, after a brawl, people didn’t just get back to their lives – instead, a doctor,… Read More→

SB XIV 11658 (P. 13232 V) A 1,400-year-old papyrus fragment from Egypt contains only a few words – but they are significant. Between oracle tradition, Christian piety and magical practices, the text defies any clear interpretation. The unassuming papyrus fragment… Read More→

BKT X 26 (P. 7977) Today, anyone suffering from fever or pain usually relies on modern medicine. However, looking back at late antique Egypt in the 4th or 5th century AD, we encounter a completely different concept of healing. In… Read More→

P. 9564 When we look up at the starry sky today, we can find all kinds of constellations. Sometimes with names that are easily understandable and sometimes with names that require a bit more imagination on our part. We can… Read More→

BGU I 304 (P. 2547) In ancient times, Egypt was considered the ‘granary of Rome’ because the fertile Nile plains provided a large part of the grain supply for the Roman Empire for centuries. Bread was a central staple food…. Read More→

BKT IX 129 (P. 21225) The interpretation of horoscopes and the prediction of the future of the newborn were usually not recorded in writing. However, astrologers could consult handbooks, of which this Greek fragment is an example. In these treatises,… Read More→

P.Schubart 16 (P. 7508) Who would not like to know more about their own future and destiny? This was also the case in ancient times. Therefore, people used horoscopes. The papyri have left us with large numbers of original horoscopes…. Read More→