…once the gods had partaken of the spiritual essence of the offerings placed on their altars, the physical remains of the food and drink could be removed for redistribution…
Temple archives recording deliveries of tribute, and calendars listing supplies designated for specific festivals, reveal that bread and beer, in vast quantities, were supplied for cult, mortuary, and funerary offerings. Egyptians believed that once the gods had partaken of the spiritual essence of the offerings placed on their altars, the physical remains of the food and drink could be removed for redistribution to temple workers – a practice known as the ‘reversion of offerings’. This was based on the sharing out of food according to rank, and created an effective salary structure for temple personnel, from the priests to the lowliest doorkeeper. Similar pay scales applied to other workers, especially state employees.
Rations
The supplies allocated as wages to the Giza pyramid-builders’ community of Heit el-Ghurab, and the tomb-builders of Deir el-Medina, varied in both quantity and quality, depending on the status of the worker. These supplies are conventionally referred to as ‘rations’, a term that hides the fundamental economic significance of food.
