| Artefact ID | 1145 |
| TM ID | TM 30267 |
| Findspot (DEChriM ID) | 25 (Aḫmīm) | Class | Textual |
| Material | Papyrus |
| Writing medium | Sheet/roll |
| Text content | Documentary |
| Language | Greek |
| Description | SB XVI 12304: Letter of peace. Sheet of papyrus containing a letter from Papas Herakleides to the fellow clergy in every place, with greetings in the Lord, asking that "our brother" (whose name is lost) be taken in by spiritual brothers. According to Wipszycka 2001: 1314 (= BL XII 213), the expression synlitourgoi adelphoi used in the address could refer to bishops but also, and more likely, to clerics associated with bishops and writing such letters for them (see P.Oxy. VIII 1162), as such, "Papas" Herakleides could be either a bishop or a priest (vs. Derda and Wipszycka 1994: 54 where this "Papas" was thought to be a bishop). Writing runs against the fibres (transvera charta); use of nomina sacra; μνηα (or μνηλ for Emmanouel?) and ϙθ (= 99 = amen) isopsephisms. Verso: On the back of the sheet are repeated the first four lines of the letter in coarser writing, running along the fibres. According to ed., the content and arrangement hardly indicate a function as an address, but rather a first, aborted attempt. |
| Selection criteria | Mention of Christian cult officials/institutions, Mention of Christian individuals/communities, Christian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian symbols/gestures/isopsephy, Nomina sacra |
| Date from | 275 |
| Date to | 325 |
| Dating criteria | Palaeography. See also Clarysse 2020: 142 and n. 38. |
| Absolute/relative date | Relative date |
| Archaeological context | The two papyrus leaves are registered under P. 8508 in the inventory book, whose origin from the binding of P.Berol.inv. 8502 (Gnostic Coptic Akhmim Codex) is explicitly stated (Treu 1982). |
| Accession number | Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung P. 8508 |
ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS
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