| Artefact ID | 1772 |
| TM ID | TM 983375 |
| Findspot (DEChriM ID) | 8 (Umm al-Dabādīb) | Class | Textual |
| Material | Papyrus |
| Writing medium | Sheet/roll |
| Text content | Documentary |
| Language | Greek, Coptic |
| Description | P. Dabadib inv. 3. Letter to the priest Pamoun in Coptic. The letter is addressed by a certain Apolaustos to the priest Pamoun (Παμουν πρεσβ(υτέρῳ)). Its background is that of a request made by Pamoun to Apolaustos to provide him with a curtain (katapetasma). Apolaustos obtained one that met Pamoun's requirements and sent it with the letter via a caravan driver (barox). Apolaustos mentions that he paid the sum of two holokottinoi for the curtain. The receipt for the payment of the curtain was sent together with the present letter so that Pamoun gives the two holokottinoi to Pchoei, who would then bring them to Apolaustos. The receipt, adds elegantly Apolaustos, one should not dwell on it too much as it goes without saying that Pamoun would refund Apolastos quickly. The letter ends with Apolaustos declaring himself ready to serve Pamoun in other matters and with greetings "in the Lord". The letter was written on an already slightly damaged piece of papyrus. As expected during this early period, the text of the letter (the recto) is written vertically, along the fibres. |
| Selection criteria | Mention of Christian cult officials/institutions, Coptic language, Archaeological context associated with Christian markers |
| Date from | 300 |
| Date to | 382 |
| Dating criteria | Chronology of the occupation of Umm al-Dabādīb. |
| Absolute/relative date | Relative date |
| Archaeological context | Room 2-9, on the second level of the fort of Umm al-Dabādīb. The room had been looted between 2007 and 2013, and again between 2016 and 2022. The papyri were found in May 2022, not on the floor of the room 2-9, but inside a "50-cm-thick layer of fine sand that covered the northwestern corner of the room" (Rossi, Delattre, Bagnall 2024: 94). How distrubed the layer in question was prior to the unearthing of the papyrus fragments is unclear. |
| Accession number | Egypt, Umm al-Dabādīb, P. Dabadib inv. 2. |
ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS
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