Trial pieces

Ostracon are various shards of limestone and/or pottery, which were used by Ancient Egyptian artisans and scribes as a tablet. The term osatracon however, is not just used for the study of Egyptology, but used by historians studying the geographical regions of various other ancient cultures too.

These fragmentary pieces have provided vast amounts of knowledge about the people and daily life of Ancient Egyptians due to both the writings and imagery found upon the discarded pieces of rock. Although, most notably, a vast collection of ostraca is associated with the worker’s village of Deir el-Medina, but many pieces have been discovered scattered across Egypt dating from different periods.

Through these pieces, we are not only able to witness artists practising their craft, such as in the pieces below, which showcase an artist drawing the profile of a king numerous times over and over on each side of the limestone ostraca, but we also get an in depth glimpse into societal complexities such as village management (laws, taxes, employment) and even hieratic script documenting medical advice.