Illustration
This piece of pottery with Demotic Egyptian text records an oath taken by Petasatet to declare his innocence in the case of cloth theft. This oath was taken before a priest of the Temple of Hathor on Dec. 6, 127 BCE. Temples played an important role in settling legal and personal disputes in ancient Egypt. They continued to act as local and regional administrative centres in the Ptolemaic period. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)