Reproduced from the Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Egyptian taskmasters? Yes, but it isn’t ancient Egypt. It’s 20th-century Israel, where the earliest archaeological digs employed taskmasters to watch over the diggers. According to Gordon, many of the taskmasters carried whips, which they didn’t hesitate to use when necessary. This archival photograph from an early Beth-Shemesh excavation shows two supervisors displaying their whips; one stands to the left of the long line of workers carrying baskets on their heads, the other is at the upper right. The man standing above the workers, wearing a dark suit and hat, is likely one of the head archaeologists.