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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID	1544
TM ID	TM 64310
Findspot (DEChriM ID)	- ()
Class	Textual
Material	Papyrus
Writing medium	Sheet/roll
Text content	Subliterary
Language	Greek
Description	P.Lond.Lit. 230, P.Oxy. III 407, van Haelst 0952: Possible Amulet with Christian Prayer The recto of this nearly square papyrus sheet (14.5 x 15.7 cm) contains 7 lines written along the fibers, with 9 cm margin to the top and side borders of the sheet. It is written in an uncial hand and features a prayer to god (ὁ θεός ὁ παντόκρατωρ) for mercy and salvation, invoking Jesus Christ (l. 5-6) and ending with Amen. Turned 90 degrees, the verso is titled «προσευχή» (“prayer”), followed by the remnants of an account (the amount βρλσ = 2136, and the unit λί[τραι]) written in a different, cursive hand. Since the sheet was folded 8 times vertically, some have assumed the possible use as an amulet. Pedretti 1956 rules out the use as an amulet, as does Barker 2010, since there is no indication in the content of the prayer for amuletic use. The style of the prayer is liturgical (see Pedretti 1956), and ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος (l. 6) is a formula typical of the Egyptian church.
Selection criteria	Subliterary genre (Liturgical), Christian terms/formulas/concepts
Date from	200
Date to	399
Dating criteria	Palaeography
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. Acquired by the British Museum in 1903.
Accession number	London, British Library Pap 1189 e

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reference edition
• Pedretti, Sac. Francesco. 1956. “Papiri Cristiani Liturgici: I.” Aegyptus 36(2). 247-253: p. 249-253.

Editio princeps
• Grenfell, Bernard P. and Arthur S. Hunt. 1903. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part III (P. Oxy. III). London: The Egypt Exploration Fund. 12-13, No. 407.

Additional bibliography
• –––. “XI. Prayers for Individual Use.” Papyri from the Rise of Christianity in Egypt: Draft Conspectus. (PCE.XI). Macquarie University. 9, No. 127. [http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/%3Fid%3D45105&usg=AOvVaw2xqK_R6N3vQdQpC4Mq_iMD]
• Barker, Don. 2010. “The Reuse of Christian Texts: P.Macquarie inv. 360 + P.Mil.Vogl.inv. 1224 (𝔓91) and P.Oxy. X 1229 (𝔓23).” In Early Christian Manuscripts: Examples of Applied Method and Approach, edited by Thomas J. Kraus and Tobias Nicklas, Leiden: Brill. 129-143: 138-140.
• Blumell, Lincoln H. and Thomas A. Wayment. 2015. Christian Oxyrhynchus. Texts, Documents, and Sources. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press. 325-326, No. 88.
• de Bruyn, Theodore S., and Jitse H.F. Dijkstra. 2011. “Greek Amulets and Formularies from Egypt Containing Christian Elements: A Checklist of Papyri, Parchments, Ostraka, and Tablets.” Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists (BASP) 48: 163-216. 212-213, No. 173.
• Ghedini, Giuseppe. 1933. “Frammenti liturgici in un papiro milanese.” Aegyptus 13. 667-673: 672.
• Leclercq, Henri. 1937. "Papyrus." In Dictionnaire d'Archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie 13(1), fasc. 144–145, edited by Fernand Cabrol and Henri Leclercq. Paris: Librairie Letouzey & Ané, col. 1370-1520: col. 1439-1440.
• Milne, Herbert J. M. 1927. Catalogue of the Literary Papyri in the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. 195, No. 230.
• Rahlfs, Alfred, and Detlef Fraenkel. 2004. Verzeichnis der griechischen Handschriften des Alten Testaments. Vol. 1.1: Die Überlieferung bis zum VIII. Jahrhundert. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 291, P. Oxy. 407.
• Schermann, Theodor. 1912. Ägyptische Abendmahlsliturgien des ersten Jahrtausends in ihrer Überlieferung dargestellt. New York: Johnson. 197.
• van Haelst, Joseph. 1976. Catalogue des papyrus littéraires juifs et chrétiens. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne. 307, No. 952.
• Wessely, Carl. 1906/1946. “Les Plus Anciens Monuments du Christianisme écrits sur Papyrus: Textes grecs édités, traduits et annotés.” Patrologia Orientalis 4(2). Paris: Firmin-Didot. 195, No. 21.

Authors

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023

Suggested citation

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1544", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1544

Json data

External links

TM 64310 / LDAB 5531 DCLP (PN) Kyprianos M1112 The British Library – Papyrus 1189

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