Ancient Egyptian sick notes and invoices go on show7 hours ago Share Save Katy Prickett Share SaveThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Images of ancient Egyptian workers (above) survive, as do many written documents which give insight into their lives - and illnessesAbout 3,500 years ago, a craftsman called Panebu was recorded as off work - because he had been bitten. The note about his absence is among dozens of ancient Egyptian everyday objects which have gone on display. The exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge concentrates on the people who built the civilisation thousands of years ago. Panebu was working on the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings in ancient Thebes at the time. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge The inner coffin of Newpawershefyt, a supervisor of scribes and of craftsmen's workshops in about 1000BCThe museum describes the exhibition as the first to bring to life the ancient Egyptian makers at work.