| Artefact ID | 97 |
| TM ID | TM 61276 |
| Findspot (DEChriM ID) | - () | Class | Textual |
| Material | Wood |
| Writing medium | Codex, Tablet |
| Text content | Subliterary |
| Language | Greek, Coptic |
| Description | Wooden polyptich: School book (P. Aegyptus Cent. 13) Notebook composed of seven wooden tablets, which contain list of pronouns and conjugation paradigms (ποιεῖν), a paraphrase of Homer's Iliad 1.1-21, arithmetic tables (fractions), and Ps. 46.3-10 in Akhmimic Coptic. The latter is the earliest known text in Akhmimic, one of the oldest Christian texts in Coptic, and "the earliest witness of the standard Sahidic Version of any part of the Bible" (Kahle 154: 237). Although classifiable as Akhmimic, the dialectal variety of this fragment of Ps. 46 features particularities that set it apart from standard A. |
| Selection criteria | Biblical quote or paraphrase, Coptic language |
| Date from | 250 |
| Date to | 299 |
| Dating criteria | Palaeography. Crum 1937: 74, Kahle 154: 237, Parsons 1970: 147, and Cribiore 1996: 273 date the school book to the second half of the 3rd century, while Azzarello 2020: 97 gives as date simply the 3rd century. PAThs dates it to 276-300. Of the three hands discernable on the seven tablets, only two are datable (Parsons' hands A and C). |
| Absolute/relative date | Relative date |
| Archaeological context | Unknown. A.H. Sayce purchased the schoolbook in Luxor in 1906 (Parsons 1970: 147) or 1908 (Azzarello 2020: 97). Azzarello 2020: 97 suspects as origin of the object the Great Oasis, while Choat 2020: 78, n. 7 expresses reserves in this regard. The putative connection of this school book with the Great Oasis relies on the similarities that it shares with Bodl. Gr. Inscr. 3018 (= SB 14.11938) (on which, see Choat 2020: 78, n. 7), dated to 246-249 CE, which was also purchased by Sayce in Luxor, possibly at the same time, and which originates from Hibis, in Kharga Oasis. According to Kahle 154: 237, the school book originates from Thebes. |
| Accession number | Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodl. Gr. Inscr. 3019 (formerly Private Collection Sayce 3019). |
ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS
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