Djekhy & Son, two businessmen living 2500 years ago in the densely populated neighborhoods built around the great temple of Amun at Karnak, worked as funerary service providers in the necropolis on the western bank of the Nile. They were also successful agricultural entrepreneurs, cultivating flax and grain. In 1885, the German Egyptologist August Eisenlohr acquired a unique collection of papyri that turned out to be Djekhy's archive of mainly legal documents. Using this rich trove of evidence, augmented by many other sources, the author has painted a vivid picture of life in ancient Egypt between 570 and 534
"Step aside Tutankhamun and Akhenaten. Meet the real Egyptians. From the banks of the Nile in the middle of the 6th century BCE come Djekhy and his family, a group of funerary workers who prepared the dead for burial and looked after the mortuary cult. Informative and often hilarious, this book provides an insight into the lives of the Egyptians that cannot easily be found on temple walls or in mu
Cary J. Martin, Institute of Archaeology, University College London
"This book is a superb example of how mundane and boring papyrus documents such as leases, letters and tax receipts can be used to write compelling, enticing, and recognizable stories about actual people who lived long ago."
Arthur Verhoogt, Department of Classical Studies, University of Michigan
"An entertaining and informative story woven around actual people who lived in ancient Egypt…"
Janet Johnson, the leading demotist at the Oriental Institute in Chicago
