The Wine Jars Speak: A text study. Reworked and translated from a Swedish MA thesis, Vinkärlsetiketterna berättar: En textstudie from 2008 in Egyptology, Uppsala University. This paper examines the texts written on shards from wine jars found at El-Amarna, Tutankhamun’s tomb (KV 62) and Deir el-Medina. Information concerning the administration of wine and its production, found in these texts, is examined. Wine was an important element in Egyptian society and a common iconographic motif in tombs at Thebes during New Kingdom. A survey on previous research on the subject is presented. This is followed by analysis of the different reoccurring elements found in the texts. A definition of the standard formulation of the wine jar label texts is given and the minimal level of information needed for the administration of wine production and distribution is identified.  The chapter of the analysis deals with the various types of information given in the label texts, such as date, wine classification, and function. The next chapter presents the words associated with the vineyard, the names of the institutions involved in the production and use of wine, and the place names that identify where wine production took place. The following chapter deals with the titles and personal names of the officials involved in wine production. This study shows that these small texts contribute to an understanding of wine production. They also display continuity in form that bridges the turbulence of the Amarna Period. The earlier examples of these texts do not have an ideological component. It is first with the Ramesside Period, and the more intrusive inclusion of the name of the King, that some ideological intent can be identified.

This paper examines the texts written on shards from wine-jars found at El-Amarna, Tutankhamuns tomb (KV 62) and Deir el-Medina. Information concerning the administration of wine and its production, found in these texts, is examined. Wine was an important element in Egyptian society and a common iconographic motif in tombs at Thebes during New Kingdom. A survey on previous research on the subject is presented. This is followed by analysis of the different reoccurring elements found in the texts. A definition of the standard formulation of the wine jar label texts is given and the minimal level of information needed for the administration of wine production and distribution is identified.  The chapter of the analysis deals with the various types of information given in the label texts, such as date, wine classification, and function. The next chapter presents the words associated with the vineyard, the names of the institutions involved in the production and use of wine, and the place names that identify where wine production took place. The following chapter deals with the titles and personal names of the officials involved in wine production. This study shows that these small texts contribute to an understanding of wine production. They also display continuity in form that bridges the turbulence of the Amarna Period. The earlier examples of these texts do not have an ideological component. It is first with the Ramessid Period, and the more intrusive inclusion of the name of the King, that some ideological intent can be identified.