Ptolemaic administrative correspondence (end of the ) IIIrd century B.C.Arsinoites (?)

Description

Of the document proper it is likely that formal greetings and, perhaps, reference to previous correspondence are missing at the beginning, while the blank space below the extant text suggests that it ended there, possiblywith the customary farewell formula and date written immediately below the concluding request. The fragmentary nature of the text permits only a partial appreciation of its contents. In what appears to be an administrative memorandum (or possibly a business letter), the sender apprises a peer (or a subordinate) of the dispatch of a shipping conductor [in order to avoid?] the delay or sequestration (presumably of grain) [and to ship?] the remainder of the commodity for which payment has been made (?); he concludes by requesting the addressee to attend to the loading.