May 02, 2022 07:00:00

A 3200-year-old Egyptian stone slab is lined with 'excuse to skip work' by pyramid-building workers.

When working in large groups, it is common for some members of the same job to skip the job. The stone slabs of the pyramid construction team at the time noted that there were workers who skipped work when building the pyramids in Egypt in 1250 BC.

ostracon | British Museum

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA5634

3,200-Year-Old Egyptian Tablet Records Excuses for Why People Missed Work: 'The Scorpion Bit Him,' 'Brewing Beer' & More | Open Culture
https://www.openculture.com/2022/02/3200-year-old-egyptian-tablet-shows-why-people-missed-work-the-scorpion-bit-him-brewing-beer-more.html

The stone slab is 38.5 cm high and 33 cm wide and is the 40th anniversary of Ramses II 's reign of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt. It was excavated in 1823 from the ruins of Dale El Medina, a village of pyramid construction workers. rice field.

by The Trustees of the British Museum

The stone board contains a list of 40 workers involved in the construction of Ramses II's tomb in Egyptian hieroglyphics. The day of work was written in black next to the name, and the reason for the absence on that day was written in red, such as 'beer was brewed' and 'my wife was bleeding'.

Beer was a daily drink in ancient Egypt and was considered to be a drink associated with gods such as Hathor . Therefore, beer brewing was an important ritual for the ancient Egyptians. In April 2021, the world's oldest beer factory was excavated in Abydos , a sanctuary of ancient Egypt.

'The oldest beer factory in the world' is excavated in Egypt --GIGAZINE

'Wife's bleeding' is said to be menstruation. It is believed that he was allowed to take a break from work because his husband had to support him if he could not work at home in order to balance work and private life.

According to the British Museum curator, the most common reasons for absenteeism were 'because of an eye disease' and 'because of being bitten by a scorpion', followed by 'because I was associated with my boss's private life'. that's right.

Other reasons such as 'because I got a hangover after attending an important banquet' and 'because I had a funeral for my brother' are written on the stone board, and if there is moderation, I am absent from work for these reasons. It seems that it was not forbidden to do it.