Long ago, there was no paper to write on, and then no one to explain the writing on the first paper.
But now we have The American Society of Papyrologists, a group dedicated to decoding whatever is written on ancient parchments (oh, wait, parchment is made from animal hidea, quite a different thing, like the difference between free Xerox paper from the office and really nice stationery from an expensive store).
The 2012 issue of their journal just out. And what did they find but the usual perennial subjects: the terms of a job contract, a petition to some civil servant against a thief (I can only envision the civil servant tossing that one into the trash), and a catalog of things to buy (ok, so they are proposed as powerful magic amulets, but it's really a jewelry catalog).
But now we have The American Society of Papyrologists, a group dedicated to decoding whatever is written on ancient parchments (oh, wait, parchment is made from animal hidea, quite a different thing, like the difference between free Xerox paper from the office and really nice stationery from an expensive store).
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| And doesn't this look amazingly like a Johnny Rotten graffito? |
My fav is the dream journal written in Greek but explained by Egyptians who apparently had cornered the market on dream interpretation, presumably charging $100 an hour for their services.
