Ancient Egyptian law and crimes
Egyptian law also seems to have been recorded, but it lacked judges and courts
in the early period of pharaonic government. In the early dynastic period, from
about 3100BC, at least through to the period of the New Kingdom, which
ended around 1000BC, state officials could act as judges when required. We do
not have a law code for ancient Egypt although one seems to have existed in
the later period, but there are records of legal precedents and royal decrees. In
theory, everyone except slaves was regarded as equal under the law, unlike the
hierarchical system of the earlier Mesopotamian cultures. However,
punishments inflicted upon a criminal could also be inflicted on his whole
family, including the children–they might all be exiled or imprisoned.
Deir elMedina, the village of the builders of the tombs in the Valley of the
Kings, excavated by Bruyère, produced numerousostracawhich recorded
legal proceedings.Ostracaare pieces of fired clay, often broken pots, on
which scribes wrote in lieu of papyrus. Deir elMedina has also produced
evidence of the use of oracles to decide legal affairs. It is not known exactly
how this worked, but it appears that a document for each side of a case was
prepared and placed either side of a street; an image of the founder god of the
village was brought and placed between the documents, and whichever side
the god turned towards was deemed to be the winner. Perhaps the statue of the
god stood on a spinning turntable?
Other records from the village give details of punishments; in the case of
stolen goods, a document sentences the thief to return the goods, and to pay a
fine of twice their value. Further punishments included caning and branding.
In more serious cases, the matter could be referred to the pharaoh himself
or the vizier, at a court called theGreat Kenbet.Before trial, the accused could
be held in a prison, although the exact nature of these is not really understood.
They may just have been deep pits, or rooms in a temple. Prison as a
punishment was not part of Egyptian justice. The worst crimes could be
punished by exile, hard labour in desert mines and quarries, the loss of ears,
nose, tongue or hands, or death. Executions were often in the form of
impalement, but there are also records of beheading, drowning and burning.
In addition to the earthly punishment, ancient Egyptians also believed that
the malefactor would face another trial in the afterlife, with further
punishments there. The deceased would enter the Court of the Dead and be
confronted by godjudges presided over by Anubis, jackalheaded god of the
dead. His heart would be weighed against a feather from the wings of the
goddess Maat, who represented justice, order and truth, and if it was too heavy
with sin, he would be destroyed and denied eternal life (Figure 6).
THE OLDEST CRIMES