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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID1641
TM IDTM 33637
Findspot (DEChriM ID)28   (al-Bahnasā)
ClassTextual
MaterialPapyrus
Writing mediumSheet/roll
Text contentDocumentary
LanguageGreek
Description

P.Oxy. X 1299, P.Oxy. 10 1299: Letter from Psais and Syra to Ision 
The letter on papyrus (24.5 x 18.1 cm) from parents (γονευσι, address on the verso) Psais and Syra to their son Ision includes well-wishes τῷ κυρίω θεῷ (line 4) and relays greetings from his brother Thonis. The parents had been ill, but have recovered and give thanks to God (εὐχαριστῶ[μ]εν τῷ θεῷ, line 5-6). They expect the return of their son and inform him about pigs (the mentioned sacrifice/killing of which has been discussed by multiple scholars) and the salting of fish. The second half of the letter lists greetings from Horion, Heraiskos, A[…] and her children, Tachosis and her husband, as well as Triadelphos with his wife and children. The writer proceeds to relay greetings to Kamokos, Hapsates, Hatres, and Pseke.

Selection criteriaChristian terms/formulas/concepts
Date from300
Date to399
Dating criteria

Palaeography. The letter is dated 10 Hathyr.

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

Sandy Lodge, Merchant Taylors’ School P. Oxy. 1299

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Grenfell, Bernard P. and Arthur S. Hunt. 1914. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part X (P. Oxy. X). London: Egypt Exploration Fund. 254-255, No. 1299.

Additional bibliography
• Bagnall, Roger S. and Raffaella Cribiore. 2006. Women's Letters from Ancient Egypt, 300 BC–AD 800. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 274-275.
• Bagnall, Roger S. and Raffaella Cribiore. 2008. Women's Letters from Ancient Egypt, 300 BC–AD 800. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. B1.14. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/heb90014.0001.001]
• Ghedini, Giuseppe. 1923. Lettere Cristiane dai Papiri Greci del III e IV Secolo. Milano: Presso l'amministrazione di Aegyptus e la società editrice Vita e Pensiero. 96n3.

• Kapsomenakis, Stylianos G. 1938. Voruntersuchungen zu einer Grammatik der Papyri der nachchristlichen Zeit. Münchener Beiträge zur Papyrusforschung und Antiken Rechtsgeschichte 28. Munich: C. H. Beck. 63-65, No. 9.
• Meecham, Henry G. 1923. Light from Ancient Letters: Private Correspondence in the Non-literary Papyri of Oxyrhynchus of the First Four Centuries, and Its Bearing on New Testament Language and Thought. London: George Allen & Unwin. 149.
• Naldini, Mario. 1968. Il Cristianesimo in Egitto. Lettere private nei papiri dei secoli II-IV. Firenze: Le Monnier. 301-303, No. 76.
• Rees, Brinley R. 1950. “Popular Religion in Graeco-Roman Egypt: II. The Transition to Christianity.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA) 36. 86-100: 94.
• Tibiletti, Giuseppe. 1979. Le lettere private nei papiri greci del III e IV secolo d.C. Tra paganesimo e cristianesimo. Milano: Vita e Pensiero. 338-339.

Authors
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023
Suggested citation
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1641", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1641
External links
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