I just finished reading an ancient Egyptian romance which was a really odd mix of very detailed research (down to translating actual insults, using the ancient place names instead of Greek or modern ones, infodumping masses of historical context etc) and then... really dumb blunders that were just lazy assumptions. For instance, most of the fabric was described as cotton - Egypt may be famous for its cotton now, but 5000 years ago, it didn't exist in Egypt. It is unlikely to have been introduced to the Mediterranean until the 5th century BC, when the Persian empire was the conduit for bringing all kinds of Eastern imports to the west.
Also, there was mention of pockets, as in thieves were referred to as pickpockets. And just various other tiny little micro-anachronisms that drove me mental.
ETA: Wooden crates. Wood was scarce in Egypt, and most timber had to be imported, therefore it was very expensive. The exquisite storage chests found in tombs were highly decorative and costly exceptions. Mundane, everyday household items would have been made of the natural resources they had in abundance: mud or reeds. Most storage needs could be met by a basket or a pot.
By the same token, you wouldn't find wooden furniture in a peasant hut - or a wooden door, for that matter. Again, if it couldn't be made out of reeds or clay, you probably wouldn't find it outside of the very affluent upper class homes. Peasants didn't need stools or tables. They didn't do a whole lot of activities in the home that couldn't be done on the floor (sitting, eating, sleeping).
ETA2: Lighting. From reading this novel, you'd think every peasant had an oil lamp on their bedside table (just in case they wanted to do some reading before bedtime, one assumes). But how does one light said lamp? This book has a character 'strike a light' - strike it on what? flint and steel? No steel... anyway, starting a fire using flint requires some sort of tinder (not the swipe right variety) and a lot of patience - it's not like flicking a modern lighter and getting an instant flame! Most likely, you would just keep embers that could be brought back to life, or borrow fire from your neighbour. The fact is that fire was a precious commodity too - it requires time and patience to produce, and fuel to maintain. You needed it for cooking - heating and lighting, not so much. When the sun went down you just went to bed.
But the romance was cute, so... I bought book 2 anyway
). One of his characters was effected with the stings after a dip in a swimming pool, because the pool had too much chlorine, which seems logical, but actually the reverse is true. Depleted chlorine or not enough results in the stings whereas throwing in buckets of the stuff doesn't.
