Some ancient Egyptian mothers delivered their babies while squatting or kneeling on a pair of bricks, which provided room for attendants to catch the baby. In a very rare depiction, a set of birth bricks is incised on the bottom of a 7-inch-high sculpture (above) from the early Ptolemaic period (332–305 B.C.).
Just two years ago, archaeologists with the University of Pennsylvania working at Abydos, in southern Egypt, excavated an actual birth brick—the first ever uncovered. The 14- by 7-inch brick (below, with drawing) is decorated with colorful paintings depicting the joyful moments following a delivery: The new mother, assisted by two women and protected by images of the cow-headed goddess Hathor, proudly displays her newborn son. Archaeologists believe that the brick, found in a 3,700-year-old palatial residence, probably belonged to the wife of a mayor of Abydos, a princess named Renseneb.
Expectant mothers in ancient Egypt carried protective amulets carved in the shape of the principal gods of childbirth: the ferocious dwarf god Bes, who warded off malign spirits; the hippopotamus goddess Tawaret, protector of laboring women and newborn infants; and Hathor, goddess of sexuality and fertility. During labor, the expectant mother and the women assisting her recited incantations to ensure a speedy delivery:
“Come down, placenta, come down! I am Horus [the falcon-headed sky god, embodiment of divine kingship] who conjures in order that she who is giving birth becomes better than she was, as if she was already delivered … Look, Hathor will lay her hand on her with an amulet of health! I am Horus who saves her!”
It’s not surprising that these women sought divine protection. Infant mortality was extremely high in ancient Egypt, with more than one of every three births resulting in the newborn’s death.
Some ancient Egyptian mothers delivered their babies while squatting or kneeling on a pair of bricks, which provided room for attendants to catch the baby. In a very rare depiction, a set of birth bricks is incised on the bottom of a 7-inch-high sculpture (above) from the early Ptolemaic period (332–305 B.C.). Just two years ago, archaeologists with the University of Pennsylvania working at Abydos, in southern Egypt, excavated an actual birth brick—the first ever uncovered. The 14- by 7-inch brick (below, with drawing) is decorated with colorful paintings depicting the joyful moments following a delivery: The new mother, […]
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