Lease
Lucius Vettius leases farm land with date palms from Lucius Longinus Fronto
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 10593
Lease of land with date palms at Philadelphia TM 10593Philadelphia, Herakleidou meris, Arsinoite nome, province of Egypt119 A.D
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
An offer to lease 1 1/2 arouras of land with scattered date palms near Philadelphia in the Fayum, made by Lucius Vettius to the owner Lucius Longinus Fronto through his agent Apellas. The lease runs four years at 120 silver drachmas a year, paid in two instalments, and the owner's acceptance is added at the end; it is dated 23 August AD 119.
In English machine translation
To Lucius Longinus Fronto, through his agent Longinus Apellas,
from Lucius Vettius O[…]tear.
I wish to lease from you the 1 1/2 arouras of land belonging to Fronto near Philadelphia, in which there are scattered date palms, being held in common and undivided out of 3 arouras, for four years, four harvests, four sowings, the date palms from the crops now on the trees in the current year 3 of Hadrian Caesar the lord, falling within the 4 years of crops, and the soil from the coming year 4, at a rent for both the soil and the date palms of 120 silver drachmas each year, free from deductions and risk, the work being done at my expense as lessee; and I will pay the aforesaid rent […] 40 drachmas, and the remaining 80 drachmas in the month […]. After the term I will hand over (the land) after the harvest, if you agree to lease.
I, Lucius Longinus, through Apellas, have leased on all the aforesaid terms as stated above.
Year 3 of Hadrian the lord, Mesore 30.
The lease takes the form of an offer by the tenant, with the landowner's acceptance subscribed below. The payment schedule is partly lost in a damaged passage.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Lease of Farm Land with Date Palms). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
p.corn.10
Λουκίῳ Λογγείνῳ Φρόντωνι διὰ φροντιστοῦ Λογγείνου Ἀπέλλα παρὰ Λουκίου Οὐεττίου Ὀ[…]τεαρ βούλομαι μισθώσασθαι παρὰ σοῦ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν τῷ Φρόντωνι περὶ Φιλαδέλφειαν γῆς ἄρουραν μίαν ἥμισυ ἐν ᾗ φοίνικες σποράδεις οὖσαν κοινὴν καὶ ἀδιαίρετον ἀπὸ ἀρουρῶν τριῶν εἰς ἔτη τέσσαρα , καρποὺ…