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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID	1642
TM ID	TM 31748
Findspot (DEChriM ID)	28 (al-Bahnasā)
Class	Textual
Material	Papyrus
Writing medium	Sheet/roll
Text content	Documentary
Language	Greek
Archive/Dossier	Dossier
Description	P.Oxy. XII 1492, P.Oxy. 12 1492: Letter from Sotas to Demetrianos This letter (22.6 x 10.3 cm) from Sotas (identified as the bishop of Oxyrhynchus) addresses the recipient as ἱερ[ὲ υἱὲ] Δημητρι[ανέ] (line 1-2) and refers to their common salvation (τὸ κο̣ι̣[νὸν] σωτήριον ἡμῶν, line 5-6). From the letter’s contents it can be gathered that Demetrianos intends to donate an aroura of land, a process which Sotas wishes to confirm. The phrase τὰ ἐ[ν τῇ] θεία προνοία (line 7-8) is used, and the farewell includes εὔχομαι τῷ θεῷ διὰ παντὸς καὶ ἐν παντί (lines 18-20). The verso contains the address.
Selection criteria	Christian terms/formulas/concepts
Date from	250
Date to	325
Dating criteria	Palaeography; dossier context (see Luijendijk 2008, 81-151 on the dossier; p. 94 specifically on the dating). The ed.pr. considered this letter (alongside P.Oxy. XII 1493, 1494 and 1592) to be among the oldest Christian documents from Egypt.
Absolute/relative date	Relative date
Archaeological context	Found in al-Bahnasā (Oxyrhynchos) during the excavations of Bernard Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt between 1896 and 1907. Luijendijk 2008 further includes in the Dossier of the bishop Sotas: PSI 3 208, PSI 9 1041, P.Oxy. 36 2785 and SB 12 10772.
Accession number	London, British Library Pap 2462

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Grenfell, Bernard P. and Arthur S. Hunt. 1916. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part XII (P. Oxy. XII). London: Egypt Exploration Fund. 249-250, No. 1492.

Additional bibliography
• Bovini, Giuseppe. 1949. La proprietà ecclesiastica e la condizione giuridica della Chiesa in età precostantiniana. Milano: Giuffrè. 128f.
• 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. 123-128, No. 12.
• Leclercq, Henri. 1929. "Lettres Chrétiennes." In Dictionnaire d'Archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie (DACL) 8(2), fasc. 90–91, edited by Fernand Cabrol and Henri Leclercq. Paris: Librairie Letouzey & Ané, col. 2683-2885: col. 2784-2785, No. 12.
• Leclercq, Henri. 1937. "Papyrus." In Dictionnaire d'Archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie (DACL) 13(1), fasc. 144–145, edited by Fernand Cabrol and Henri Leclercq. Paris: Librairie Letouzey & Ané, col. 1370-1520: col. 1423. No. 5.
• Luijendijk, AnneMarie. 2008. Greetings in the Lord. Early Christians and the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 125-136, 241, Plate 5.
• Naldini, Mario. 1968. Il Cristianesimo in Egitto. Lettere private nei papiri dei secoli II-IV. Firenze: Le Monnier. 156-158, No. 30.
• Rees, Brinley R. 1950. “Popular Religion in Graeco-Roman Egypt: II. The Transition to Christianity.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA) 36. 86-100: 96-97.
• Wessely, Carl. 1924. “Les plus anciens monuments du christianisme II.” Patrologia orientalis 18(3). 385-386, no. C.
• White, L. Michael. 1996. The Social Origins of Christian Architecture. Volume II. Texts and Monuments for the Christian Domus Ecclesiae in Its Environment. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International. 162-164, No. 44.
• Winter, John Garrett. 1933. Life and Letters in the Papyri. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 148.

Authors

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023

Suggested citation

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1642", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1642

Json data

External links

TM 31748 DDbDP (PN) HGV The British Library – Papyrus 2462

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