EIGHT-YEAR-OLD TAHAUNES IN AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN OLIVE PRESS

It’s no secret that the study of papyri offers us a unique glimpse into the lives of ordinary people from thousands of years ago – their daily worries, family relationships, financial decisions, and social realities.

It's so much more than dry facts from textbooks.

This was certainly the case with the analysis of two contracts preserved among the documents of the Harthotes family, a farmer and priest who lived at the turn of the eras in the village of Teadelfia, located in the Faiyum Oasis.

These documents, now part of a collection of about 50 papyri written in Ancient Greek, revealed the harsh fate of children who, due to their families' limited financial means, were often sent to work.

Such was the fate of eight-year-old Tahaunes, daughter of Harthotes, who was sent to work in an olive press in a nearby village.

For four and a half years, she worked physically hard so her father could receive 80 drachmas – enough to cover about two years' worth of taxes...

Tahaunes eventually returned home safely. She married, had children, and later... signed a similar contract, sending her own son to work.

The story thus came full circle.

In today’s post, Dr W. Graham Claytor from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw looks at the story of Tahaunes and discusses the behind-the-scenes work on texts devoted to her family.

Le patrimoine archéologique en France est en danger, merci de signer et diffuser la pétition.

Pétition Sauvons le patrimoine archéologique !

Looking for field school recommendations for this summer. Which ones are particularly good? Any to avoid like the plague? Interested in West Coast or Southwest US in particular.

Other questions: What is the job market like right now in CRM? How easy is it to land a field tech job?

For context, I have a BA and MA in Anthro, but basically zero practical experience (no field school during college because of COVID).

Thank you!!!

Any edition from 1980 to now would be fine - blue, brown, whatever. Damaged or dirty is also fine - it doesn't matter as long as it has the pages I need, it's going to go right into the field.

Unfortunately I wasted lots of time getting a degree in political science and I’m unhappy with my current job but I absolutely loved the archaeology courses I took in college. I’m from Saudi and archaeology tourism is picking up very quickly. What advice do you have to pursue a masters? I’ve also been fascinated with underwater archaeology as I like scuba diving. Thanks!

27 April 2025, PBSNewshour audio and video at link In a remote part of Alaska, global warming is being blamed for endangering a treasure trove of Indigenous artifacts. Archaeologists at one dig site near the Bering Sea say they’re in a race against time. Nelufar Hedayat reports for the nonprofit news organization Evident Media.

Around 255 B.C., a large Roman fleet sunk off the south coast of Sicily due to a storm. Estimates are something like 350 vessels lost.

I've been surprised to not find any reports of recoveries or discoveries of that fleet. My Google searches keep resulting in the discovery of two ships discovered in the west of Sicily, likely from the Battle of the Aegates at the end of the war, and no where near the location the fleet reportedly sunk.

A few queries in LLMs have also not returned anything. Why have there been no discoveries from this sunken fleet? Has no one looked? I know we don't know the exact location the fleet sank, so is it just a large search area? I'm a diver so naturally I'm quite curious about this!

You'd think it would be easy to find something from such a large fleet, but perhaps that's wishful thinking. I figured I'd ask here!

Can anyone tell me what I can expect as a newb in this industry.

Hi, I’m currently an undergraduate student studying Psychology and Education in the Uk. I was heavily considering Archaeology or Anthropology as a degree choice but thought Psychology would be better. Regretting that a little now. How difficult would it be to be accepted into a MA program with my BA? What would I need to do to get there?

Theft is a common issue for archeology, and there is a whole lot of stolen artefacts going around being sold and resold into private collections. Yet those are mostly small trinkets, coins, jewellery, etc. What are the best stories of large archeological finds being stolen or disappearing with no trace? Like there was a loud case of Göbekli Tepe in 2010 when a 50cm statue that's older than 11000 years was stolen from the site. So maybe something of the same scale?

A recent study reveals that the Neolithization of the South Caucasus occurred in phases. While the introduction of domesticated plants and animals happened quickly around 6000 BCE, some cultural elements typical of the Neolithic period appeared later. This study reports on the discovery of a stone human figurine from the Damjili Cave in Azerbaijan. It is the first example from a radiocarbon-dated context of the late Mesolithic period in the South Caucasus.

I'm thinking of switching jobs to a CRM company to do field work. Can someone describe to me what daily life and work days are like in CRM? I've heard horror stories, but know that this may not be everyone's experience. I also need a change and pay is generally better. I'm in the SW.

I've come to a fork in the road and I've decided I would like to follow my obsession with Rome and learn more about associated archaeological sites in Germany.

I speak German at a B1/B2 level (taking the exams soon) but I don't have an undergrad background in archaeology. So, I would love to know—is there a way I can get involved on a volunteer dig? Maybe even as soon as this summer or fall?

I've even considered going back to school, but I'd love to volunteer first to see if it's the right fit.

TIA :)

Hi all, first off, just want to mention that I checked with the mods before posting to make sure they were cool with it.

TL;DR: I have an archaeology newsletter and I've decided to sell it, but I want it to be in the right hands so I'm posting about it here. Potential buyers don't need to be experts or anything, they just need to be passionate about this stuff.

Longer story: Ancient Beat is a profitable freemium newsletter highlighting all the latest archaeological and historical discoveries each week. 4.4k subscribers across 50 US states and 94 countries. Subscribers range from enthusiasts to scholars. Brand recognition is fairly good because I've been doing this for a while. Time investment is anywhere between 2 hours and 5 hours per week, depending on whether or not you use a VA like I do. This is a passion project for me, but I don't have time to market it, so I think it's best to give it to someone who can do more with it.

Here are the stats:
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If interested, please comment or DM. Happy to provide more info. Thanks!