Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446
The Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446 is the modern name for an ancient Egyptian document that is now in the Brooklyn Museum , ( New York ). It was purchased in Egypt by Charles Edwin Wilbour between 1881 and 1896 . The document probably comes from Thebes . After CE Wilbour's death, the papyrus was given to the Brooklyn Museum by the widow in 1916, but remained in the home of Theodora Wilbour, daughter of Charles Wilbour, until 1935. At that time, the papyrus consisted of approx. 600 small fragments, which were put back together from 1950 to 1952. In 1955 the papyrus was published by William C. Hayes . It is one of the most important preserved administrative documents from Egypt of the Middle Kingdom , around 1700 to 1750 BC. Chr.
content
The papyrus is written on both sides. On the front is a list of 80 people in various columns who apparently fled from an institution called the large prison / labor camp ( ḫnrt-wr ) and are asking for their discovery to be recorded. The list gives their names, the name of the father, as well as a high official, a place or an institution to which they originally belonged. In a further column there is a note whether the person is male or female. This is followed by administrative information, a place where the case was ticked off with a note of where the fugitives are currently. Finally, two notes follow whether the case is closed.
The dates seem to come from the reign of Amenemhet III. to reach into the 13th dynasty . Within the document are also copies of a letter and a royal decree to Vizier Anchu .
exploration
The content of this list has been discussed controversially in research and there are basically two opposing approaches. On the one hand, the document is seen as evidence of Egypt as a coercive state, in which parts of the population were forced to do hard labor and these people found the work so overwhelming that they fled from it. On the other hand, it was pointed out that the document covers a period of several decades and that the number of refugees for such a period is not very large. The evidence of family liability is remarkable . As long as the fugitives were not caught, relatives have been taken into custody.
On the back of the document is a list of servants and Asians who were sold by a Senebtisi woman. Especially the many Asian names on this list aroused the interest of research and proves the high proportion of foreigners in Egypt of the 13th Dynasty.
literature
- William C. Hayes : A Papyrus of the Late Middle Kingdom in the Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn Museum, New York 1955.
- Stephen Quirke : The administration of Egypt in the late Middle Kingdom: the hieratic documents. SIA Publications, New Malden (Surrey) 1990, ISBN 1-872561-01-2 , pp. 127-154.