Archaeologists find 18,000 "sticky notes" from ancient Egypt that reveal what life was like for ordinary people at the time.

Archaeologists find 18,000 “sticky notes” from ancient Egypt that reveal what life was like for ordinary people at the time.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho Published on 16/04/2026 at 02:24

In addition to the educational context, the ostraca of ancient Egypt served as tax receipts, goods receipts, and shopping lists. The fragments detail transactions of food such as wheat and bread, as well as recording names of individuals and their respective debts or payments. This data allows historians to reconstruct the workings of local trade and better understand the distribution of resources among the common citizens of the city.

The preservation of these records was favored by the durable material of ceramics, which survived over time much better than organic documents. The meticulous analysis of each piece is helping to map social relationships and daily customs, such as religious rituals and bureaucratic interactions.

Through the ostraca of ancient Egypt, it is possible to perceive that financial concerns and administrative organization were omnipresent aspects of ancient urban life.

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The discovery in Athribis is comparable, in terms of volume and importance, to the findings made in the workers’ village of Deir el-Medina, near the Valley of the Kings. While monuments and tombs often focus on the lives of kings and gods, these ostraca of ancient Egypt bring to light the voices of artisans, peasants, and students. The project, led by the University of Tübingen in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, took years to complete due to the fragility and quantity of the material.

Researchers believe that many other fragments may still be buried at the site, which could further expand knowledge about the cultural transition in Egypt. The systematization of this information offers a new perspective on social history, focused on basic human experience rather than just major political events.

The ostraca of ancient Egypt prove to be one of the richest sources for understanding the evolution of writing and social organization in the Nile basin.

With information Zme Science

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Archaeologists find 18,000 “sticky notes” from ancient Egypt that reveal what life was like for ordinary people at the time.

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Archaeological importance for understanding social history

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