Elephantine is an island in the Nile in southern Egypt. This trading and frontier centre was home to a uniquely diverse population. Different languages, cultures and religions came together here. It is the only place in the world where it is possible to »read« the cultural history of 4,000 years through written sources. Thousands of texts are written on papyrus or ostraca in ten different languages and scripts, including hieroglyphics, Aramaic, Coptic and Arabic. In this first comprehensive presentation of its kind in the world, outstanding artefacts from Berlin will be shown alongside selected international highlights.