OPES – Oslo Papyri Electronic System

Background and Physical Properties

Material:

Papyrus

Connections:

–

Size:

7.5 x 31.3 cm.

Lines:

31

Publication side:

Recto

Palaeographic description:

One hand. Practiced Roman period cursive. Numerous ligatures and abbreviations. Black ink. Thin pen.

State of preservation:

Medium brown colour. Left and right edges cut straight. Lower edge also cut straight and preserved. Upper part broken. Lower margin at 8.5 cm. 2 horizontal kolleseis at 6.5 and 25. 5 cm. from the lower edge (5.5 from the upper break). Kollema at 20.4 cm. Crossed out line on the verso.

Content

Date:

After 25-26 CE

Origin:

Batn el-Harit (ancient Theadelpheia), Egypt?

Language:

Greek

Genre:

Documentary

Author:

Unknown

Title / Type of text:

Tax account / Account

Content:

The upper part of the document is missing so its exact nature is unclear. The preserved part contains a mention of the produce in the 13th and 14th year of Tiberius. Then follows a personalised account of dues or overdues in kind (wheat and lentils) by public farmers for the year 12. The totals are converted to silver drachmae (lentils at a rate of 3, wheat at 5 drachmae per artaba) and added up making altogether 5305 drachmae (a mistake, instead of 5405).

Subjects:

Wheat Lentils Public cultivators List Farming Toparch Taxation Names Farmer's secretary Dues Overdues Adaeratio

Named people:

Mysthas son of Pnepheros Pnepheros son of Tothoes Horos son of Didymos? Psenamounis son of Psenatymis Marres son of Ischyrion Tothoes son of Tothoes Marres son of Petesouchos Petesouchos son of Pachompetenephotes Arabion son of Ammonios Tothoes the elder son of Ampsais Psenamounis son of Petesouchos Pnepheros son of Kephas

Named places:

Theadelpheia?

English translation:

… and of produce in the 13th and 14th year of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, which is listed according to each of the public cultivators and includes the toparch and the scribe of the cultivators. For the 12th year(?). Mysthas son of Pnepheros: 196 and a half artabas of wheat, 60 and a half and a quarter of lentils; Pnepheros son of Tothoes: 161 artabas of wheat, 20 of lentils; Tothoes son of Tothoes: 56 artabas of wheat, 9 and 2/3 of lentils; Horos son of Didymos(?): 43 and a third and a twelfth artabas of wheat, 19 and a quarter of lentils; Psenamounis son of Psenatymis: 76 and a half and a twelfth of wheat, 54 and a half of lentils; Marres son of Ischyrion: 33 artabas of wheat, 6 and a half and a twelfth of lentils; Marres son of Petesouchos: 67 and a half artabas of wheat, 28 and a half and a quarter of lentils; Petesouchos son of Pachompetenephotes: 65 and a half artabas of wheat, 14 and a half of lentils; Arabion son of Ammonios: 68 and a half artabas of wheat, 20 and a sixth of lentils; Tothoes the elder, son of Ampsais: 109 artabas of wheat, 25 and a third of lentils; Psenamounis son of Petesouchos: […] and Pnepheros, son of Kephas: 36 and a half artabas of wheat, 20 and a half of lentils. This makes a total of 913 and a half artabas of wheat and 280 of lentils. This makes a total of 1193 artabas, of which the 280 of lentils each at silver drachmas total 840 silver drachmas and the 913 artabas of wheat each at 5 silver drachmas total 4565. This equals 5305 silver drachmas.(translation by Gina Othelie Green)

Provenance:

Cairo, Egypt

Acquisition:

Purchased through the British Museum (box IV. 4, see Bell’s report) from Maurice Nahman.

Acquisition year:

1923

Editions

• Eitrem, S. and Amundsen, L., P.Oslo III, 1936, pp. 161-163, 279 (no. 112)

Further Literature

Catalogues

TM 21548

Discussions

• Casanova, G. (1975). Theadelphia e l'Archivio di Harthotes. Aegyptus, 55, pp. 74, 82-84, and 112 (includes it in TM Arch id: 99, archive of Harthotes, but the connection is not accepted in modern scholarship on the archive). (cf. BL VII, p. 125 (l. 11))