| Artefact ID | 538 |
| TM ID | TM 33571 |
| Findspot (DEChriM ID) | 55 (Qarāra) | Class | Textual |
| Material | Papyrus |
| Writing medium | Sheet/roll |
| Text content | Documentary |
| Language | Greek |
| Archive/Dossier | Archive |
| Description | P.Neph. 20: Report from a speculator to a riparius The letter contains the report of a speculator (whose name is illegible), to a certain Fronto, in whom the editors recognise a riparius of the Herakleopolites. The report concerns the result of his investigation, which he carried out on the occasion of disputes that had broken out between the inhabitants of Nesoi and the police of Thelbo (see also P.Neph. 19). In his account, the speculator seems to believe the statements of the inhabitants of Nesoi and emphasises the bona fides of the priest (πρεσβύτερος) who should be kept out of the matter. The editors suggest that this could be an indication that this priest, in the context of the archive, is the famous priest Nepheros himself. Recto: indented terminal greetings, in a much more cursive hand. Writing runs along the fibres. |
| Selection criteria | Mention of Christian cult officials/institutions, Christian onomastics |
| Date from | 350 |
| Date to | 370 |
| Dating criteria | Palaeography, archive connection and historic context led the editors to suggest a range of date around 360 for the Nepheros correspondence (Kramer and Shelton 1987: 5). According to the study of the prices mentioned in the archive, Bagnall 1989: 75 (= BL IX, 173) suggests a range after 352. |
| Absolute/relative date | Relative date |
| Archaeological context | The P.Neph. were bought on the market but according to the seller they were all found together. Nothing in the archive led the editors to doubt this statement and they add that the archive were probably found in the direct vicinity of the ancient location of the monastery of Phathor (see Kramer and Shelton 1987: 5). |
| Accession number | Heidelberg, Institut für Papyrologie P. G 2148 |
ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS
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