4care-artefacts – 4care

4CARE-ARTEFACTS

ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID	1677
TM ID	TM 16597
Findspot (DEChriM ID)	28 (al-Bahnasā)
Class	Textual
Material	Papyrus
Writing medium	Sheet/roll
Text content	Documentary
Language	Greek
Description	P. Oxy. 34 2728: Letter from Kapitolinos to Sarapammon This former sheet (14 x 25 cm) is now composed of multiple fragments placed together. The recipient is addressed as ἀδελφῷ (line 1) and wished well alongside his wife and children παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ (line 5). Although it is a business letter, until line 15 Kapitolinos makes his displeasure toward Sarapammon felt, for not letting him know how he is doing, neither via Horigenes when he visits Kapitolinos, nor when Kapitolinos writes him an itemized account, as he is presently doing. What follows is a list of wine sales in σπ(άθια) and some instructions for pricing. Kapitolinos specifically asks Sarapammon to relay details about current prices, if oil is more lucrative in his district at the moment than wine. The term σάμβαθον (line 33) is here used for a container (unlike P. Oxy. 6 903, where σάββαθον, “Sabbath” is written in this way) of pickled mullet. The verso is most likely blank, if an address existed, it was rubbed off.
Selection criteria	Christian terms/formulas/concepts
Date from	308
Date to	318
Dating criteria	Palaeography; Bagnall 1985 limits the timeframe even further according to the prices for spathia of wine (312–318 probable, 308–312 possible).
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.
Accession number	Oxford, Sackler Library, Papyrology Rooms P. Oxy. 2728

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Ingrams, Leonard, P. Kingston, Peter Parsons, and John Rea. 1968. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Vol. XXXIV (P. Oxy. XXXIV). Graeco-Roman Memoirs 49. London: Egypt Exploration Society. 133-135, No. 2728.

Additional bibliography
• Bagnall, Roger S. 1985. Currency And Inflation In Fourth Century Egypt. Atlanta: Scholars Press. 57, No. 1.
• Blumell, Lincoln H. and Thomas A. Wayment. 2015. Christian Oxyrhynchus: Texts, Documents and Sources. Waco TX: Baylor University Press. 449-450n19.
• Cazzaniga, Ignazio. 1970. “Un'osservazione al testo della lettera di Capitolino a Sarapammone (P. Oxy. 2728, sec. III-IV d.C.).” Studi in onore di Vittorio De Marco. Acme 23(1-2): 67-70.
• Gonis, Nikolaos. 1997. “Remarks on Private Letters.” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE) 119. 135-147: 138.

Authors

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023

Suggested citation

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1677", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1677

Json data

External links

TM 16597 DDbDP (PN) HGV Oxyrhynchus Online (Image Database) Oxyrhynchus Papyri (University of Oxford – Online Resource)

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