The Aramaic papyri from the archaeological site of Wadi Daliyeh: records of the pur-chase and sale of slaves in Samaria during the Persian period

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the Aramaic papyri from Wadi Daliyeh within the context of the archaeological site of Wadi ed-Daliyeh (Palestine). These papyri, written in ancient Aramaic, contain in their content the procedures for buying and selling slaves in the Persian province of Samaria and their cultural and social consequences. Based on the Historical Archeology method, which works both with the analysis of the archaeological site and its material culture and with the documentary sources related to the site in question or found there. Taking as a starting point the study of archaeological excavation reports and documentary analyses, important information was discovered about the trade of slaves in the Persian province of Samaria during the 5th century BCE. This information helps to create part of a broader scenario based on material and documentary evidence from the time. The research demonstrated that the enslaved people sold were not necessarily prisoners of war, but people (Israelites and/or Persians) who lived in the region of that province. It is possible that these people became slaves because of debts or due to lack of resources to pay taxes. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to understand the way of life of these enslaved people, only the negotiations in the slave market in Samaria, a Persian province, recorded in these papyri.