Free Clinic for Ancient Egyptians

024

While debates about healthcare continue to rage in the U.S., a discovery at an ancient Egyptian village shows that government healthcare plans are by no means “new.”

Even though many European countries adopted a form of social insurance—which would become national insurance—as early as the 19th century, modern societies are millennia behind Egypt’s New Kingdom. At Deir el-Medina,^a a workers’ village near ancient Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt), evidence of a government healthcare plan has been uncovered from the second millennia B.C.

Papyri and ostraca from the site—dated to the 19th and 20th Dynasties (c. 1300–1080 B.C.)—show many facets of the healthcare system. Ranging from official documents to personal letters, from prescriptions to legal inquiries about the treatment of the ill, these documents demonstrate that the workers at Deir el-Medina, who had the important task of building the pharaohs’ tombs in the Valley of the Kings, were offered a variety of healthcare benefits, including paid sick days and free visits to physicians.

However, even though these services were available, did the ancient Egyptians take advantage of them? Egyptologist Anne Austin of Stanford University believes that the answer to this question lies in the bones of the skilled workers themselves. Dr. Austin, an osteo-archaeologist, is leading a study of the human remains at Deir el-Medina.

Already she’s uncovered bones that tell some pretty interesting tales. One man had osteomyelitis, infection of the bone through the bloodstream, in his legs. This infection, which caused inflammation in his bones and bone marrow, proliferated throughout his legs. There are indications that he worked while infected, even though it must have been painful for him. Therefore, even though healthcare was available—and he was likely treated—there must have been pressure to return to work quickly.

Austin also discovered osteoarthritis in the ankle and knee joints of many of the workers, which confirms that the daily commute from their village to the Valley of the Kings took a toll on the workers’ bodies. The modern route between the two sites—following the ancient trail—is about a mile long and features thousands of steps. Indeed, it is no surprise that the incidence of arthritis in the ankles and knees of the workers from Deir el-Medina is significantly higher than of the Egyptian population as a whole.

Yet bones only tell half the story; written records prove that the workers did use the healthcare system. These documents show that the workers at Deir el-Medina visited three types of medical providers: the swnw (physician), the ḫrp-srḳ.t (scorpion charmer) and the rḫ.t (wise woman).¹ The physician was also a member of the workforce at Deir el-Medina, but while treating patients, he was excused from work and was paid rations by the Egyptian state. Dealing primarily in responsive medicine, he treated his patients with ointments and prescriptions.

While the physician was the primary healthcare provider at Deir el-Medina, the scorpion charmer and wise woman also played important roles. The scorpion charmer mainly treated poisonous bites and stings, but he also served as an intermediary between his patients and the deities by practicing forms of preventative medicine, such as making amulets and charms for his patients.

026

In ancient Egypt, the lines between magic and medicine were often blurred. The wise woman, a kind of folk practitioner, helped diagnose the divine causes of illnesses. She would help her patients determine which god or goddess needed to be supplicated in order to cure a particular illness. While the scorpion charmer was compensated by state religious institutions, there are indications that the wise woman lived outside Deir el-Medina and was not supported by the state. Individuals privately paid for her expertise.

It is important to recognize that the situation at Deir el-Medina was not representative of the entire Egyptian population. Their healthcare was a benefit of working for the Egyptian government. While innovative, it appears that their healthcare system still had its flaws, which is a sentiment many would echo about modern government healthcare programs. As the Teacher in Ecclesiastes wisely observed, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).—M.S.

While debates about healthcare continue to rage in the U.S., a discovery at an ancient Egyptian village shows that government healthcare plans are by no means “new.”