Human world
Length: 40cm
Bureaucratic and administrative texts were often written on papyrus, although it was too expensive to be used for all records. This document, known as the Papyrus Mayer B (after Joseph Mayer, its 19th-century owner), relates to a very specific historical event. It comes from a series of texts that records the arrest and examination of people accused of robbery of royal tombs at Thebes.
Written in hieratic script in black with headings in red, this document records part of the trial of men accused of robbing the Tomb of Ramesses VI. The text gives the confessions of the robbers and details their arguments over the spoils. The fragment was mounted on linen by Constantine Simonides, a notorious forger of texts. His name appears written in Greek on the bottom right-hand corner of the papyrus.
Papyrus Mayer A (not shown here) dates to the reign of Ramesses XI. It also relates to men and women accused of stealing objects from royal tombs at Thebes. The testimony of both the accused and the witnesses was given under oath and after a beating on the soles of the feet!