Get Social With Us

4CARE-ARTEFACTS

ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID736
TM ID-
Findspot (DEChriM ID)18   (Qaṣr al-Dāḫila)
ClassTextual
MaterialCeramic
Writing mediumOstracon
Text contentDocumentary
LanguageCoptic
Archive/DossierDossier
Description

O.al-Qasr 1

Letter from the foreman (keval/ for κεφαλαιωτής) Paham to Phoibamon and others (?) in Coptic (S). A Jacob and a Paul son of Psyros are further mentioned. The same foreman Paham authored O.al-Qasr 4. The lower part of the ostracon is badly preserved and the lower end is missing. Therefore, the content cannot be established. The text opens with a staurogram.

Selection criteriaChristian symbols/gestures/isopsephy, Coptic language
Date from375
Date to500
Dating criteria-
Absolute/relative dateRelative date
Archaeological context

The ostracon belongs to two groups of ostraca described as follows: "Three were discovered above the floor of the room in which Trench 4 was situated, while the remaining nine were found within the confines of Sondage A related to the flooring and stratified contexts associated with the wall at the east end (i.e., what may be the ‘Roman wall’)." (Gardner 2012: 472). It is not clear to which of the two groups this ostracon belongs.

Accession number

Unknown (the number mentioned above is taken from labels of images).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Unedited; mentioned in:

• Gardner, Iain. 2012. "Coptic Ostraca from Qasr al-Dakhleh." In The Oasis Papers 6: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Paola Davoli and Colin A. Hope, 471–74. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

Authors
Matthias Müller, Victor Ghica, 2021, 2023
Suggested citation
Matthias Müller, Victor Ghica, 2021, 2023, "Artefact ID 736", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/736
External links
Gallery