| Artefact ID | 398 |
| TM ID | TM 64322 |
| Findspot (DEChriM ID) | 28 (al-Bahnasā) | Class | Textual |
| Material | Papyrus |
| Writing medium | Codex |
| Text content | Literary |
| Language | Greek |
| Description | Pap.Congr. XVIII, 1 p. 453-460; Ap23 A papyrus folio containing parts of the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. The folio consists of several fragments: It is made up of P.Mich. 1317, P.Mich. 1388, and P.Berol. 13893. Of these, only one (P.Mich. 3788) was described as coming from al-Bahnasā (Oxyrhyncus). The provenance and findspots of the rest remains uknown. P.Mich. 1317 (19.8 cm x 6.3 cm) was first published together with P.Berl. 13893 (=P.Berol. inv. 13893, preserves 14 lines of text), as they belong to the same folio. It has a weathered appearance, darkened by dirt and moisture; see ed. pr. (i.e., Sanders 1938). The script is a formal book hand with upright uncials written in the severe style, and the hand prompts the ed. pr. to date the fragment to before the end of the 4th c. Punctuation is marked by mid points, and the text contains severeal nomina sacra. A page number (πς "86") is visible above the beginning of line 1 on the verso, and πε "85" on the recto, both positioned close to what would have been the folding line in the centre of the codex.. The ed. pr. assesses that the fragments must have originated from the second half of a codex. On the verso 33 lines survive, with 35 on the recto. The original number of lines was 38 lines in the verso, 40 on the recto, which is evident hrough the addition of the final fragment (P.Mich. 3788) which supplies the bottom section of the folio. The ed. pr. posits that the format would suggest an archetype written in stichoi. Of the nomina sacra, Ισραηλ "Israel" is not contracted. The text partly overlaps with P. Hamburg and P.Oxy XIII 1602 (= Ghent 62, 5th c. Oxyrhynchus), and gives useful indication of the original length of the Acts. P.Mich. 3788 (6 cm x 3 cm) is a small fragment, published first by Sanders in 1943 who did not identify the content as belonging to the Acts of Paul. The fragment preserves 9 lines on both the recto and the verso, and the script on both sides belongs to the same hand. The text has preserved one nomen sacrum and an apostrophe in l. 5 recto. It belongs to the bottom right edge of P.Mich. 1317/P.Berol. 13893, and has preserved the bottom margin of the folio. Collectively, they present part of the apocryphal Acts of Paul, and describe how the apostle arrives in Italy (Puteoli). In the scene described, a man by the name of Claudius receivs Paul and the captain of the ship Artemon. There is a gathering of Christians in the house of Claudius, where Paul gives a sermon about Christ and the God of Israel. |
| Selection criteria | Literary genre (Non-canonical) |
| Date from | 250 |
| Date to | 350 |
| Dating criteria | Palaeography. The hand in the Biblical majuscule of the Severe Style indicates a date between the second half of the 3rd c. and the second half of the 4th; see ref. ed. |
| Absolute/relative date | Relative date |
| Archaeological context | The P.Mich. 1317 was purchased from Nahman and reached the University of Michigan in 1923. Provenance and findspot are N/A. Provenance and find sites are generally unknown, except for P.Mich. 3788 (possibly Oxyrhunchus). |
| Accession number | Ann Arbor, Michigan University, Library P. 1317 + P. 3788 + Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung P. 13893 |
ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS
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