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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID1632
TM IDTM 78595
Findspot (DEChriM ID)28   (al-Bahnasā)
ClassTextual
MaterialPapyrus
Writing mediumSheet/roll
Text contentDocumentary
LanguageGreek
Description

P.Oxy. LXV 4493, P.Oxy. 65 4493: Letter from Horion to Thaesis 
The sheet (13.8 x 26.2 cm) is complete save for a hole near the top right corner. Thaesis is addressed as μου μητρὶ, and Horion sends greetings to his sister. The ed.pr. remarks that due to the hole, the letter may have been jointly addressed to Thaesis and a Herakleides (?). Horion asks his mother to oversee Artemidoros and to petition the λογίστης if necessary with regards to bakers and a Dionysidoros. He further instructs her not to sell any chickens until he arrives. Horion signs the address as κλειβ(ανέως), baker or pastry-cook, a combination of name and profession which also occurs in P.Oxy. VIII 1142. The phrase παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ θε(ῷ) (line 4-5) is used.

Selection criteriaChristian terms/formulas/concepts
Date from300
Date to350
Dating criteria

Palaeography; the ed.pr. further remarks that mention of the λογίστης (line 12, 19) indicates the letter was written no earlier than the 4th century.

Absolute/relative dateRelative date
Archaeological context

Found in al-Bahnasā (Oxyrhynchos) during the excavations of Bernard Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt between 1896 and 1907.

Accession number

Oxford, Sackler Library, Papyrology Rooms P. Oxy. 4493

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Schlag, Ursula and J. David Thomas. 1989. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Vol. LXV (P. Oxy. LXV), edited by Michael W. Haslam et al. Graeco-Roman Memoirs 85. London: Egypt Exploration Society. 191-193, No. 4493.

Authors
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023
Suggested citation
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1632", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1632
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