Ancient Egyptians skipped work for beer?

Over 3,000 years ago, the workmen who carved and painted the royal tombs in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings had their absences written down on a slab of limestone, with each reason in red ink. Eye trouble. A scorpion sting. Brewing beer for a festival. You can still see this attendance register from around 1250 BCE at the British Museum (EA5634).

Sources: British Museum, ostracon EA5634; University of Hamburg CSMC, “Stung by a scorpion”; Janssen, “Absence from work by the necropolis workmen of Thebes” (1980)

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