Year 17 of Emperor Antoninus Pius…. Mater-
Senosiris, a Persian, aged 40, with a scar on the left
shoulder, her guardian being her husband
Pisechthis, agrees with Metis-Tapsais to nurse the
infant slave girl from the garbage dump, whose
name is Thesis, who was entrusted to her by
Tapsais, for two years, receiving from her each
month… twelve drachmae (about $21.00)
by CryptographerKey2847
3 Comments
From the garbage dump – poor kid ☹️
In Rome, unwanted babies were left in a public place to hopefully be taken in, or die. I guess it was also a way for Romans to get a free slave for the low price of a nursemaid.
ETA: seems like this may have been in Roman Egypt. Not sure if the same custom went on there.
Only papyrus writings has been able to withstand time and the environment from this era to today. And the only papyrus documents from ancient Rome times have been found in Egypt, where the dry climate prevented them turning to dust. Imagine if ancient Roman paper could have lasted this long.