Life in Ancient Egypt - Scribes

Even though much ancient Egyptian written material is still extant, it surely represents only a fraction of what originally existed. To produce such a mass, there must have been an impressive arsenal of scribes. In fact the word sesh, "scribe," was among the most frequently used titles in ancient Egypt. It is also one of the earliest recorded, and there are representations of scribes carrying the tools of their craft (pigments, water pot, and pen) over their shoulders from various periods beginning with the Old Kingdom. [Carnegie Museum of Natural History]