Egyptian called in sick 3,500 years ago because ‘something bit me’

1295 to 1186 BCE records an order from a man called Nakhtamun for windows. (Musée du Louvre via SWNS) By Talker

By Faye Mayern

An exhibition has revealed Ancient Egyptian sick notes and work invoices - including one man who stayed home because he'd been bitten.

The ' Made in Ancient Egypt ' presentation at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge shows how these living in ancient times are not so different to us.

One ostracon - a piece of pottery used for writing - details a list of absences and days when no one worked in the Valley of the Kings in Ancient Thebes.

1295 to 1186 BCE records an order from a man called Nakhtamun for windows. (Musée du Louvre via SWNS)

The artifact, dating back to between 1550 and 1069 BCE , reveals how, in one month, the whole workforce attended the f