Home › Spine › TM 11595
One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 11595

Petition of fishermen to the prefect about leased fishing thickets TM 11595Arsinoites192 - 193 (?)

The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 2 records across 2 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →

Copy of a petition to the prefect of Egypt from a group of village fishermen in the Arsinoite nome. They complain that a man who repeatedly leased the fishing thickets (marsh areas) has forced them away from their hereditary work, and they ask the prefect to hear their case against him.

In English machine translation

[…] roll (?) 30 [From] […]on and Sarapion son of Akouis [and] […] …urios son of Palas and Euporas [son of] […] and the other fishermen of the village of […]. [It is our custom], lord prefect, from the time of our parents [to carry on] the fishing trade, [and from it we] provide our livelihood, in [our] thickets (?) [around the village], they being made […]. But a certain […], lord, having become […], leased the thickets [for the five-year period] from the 23rd year, while we were working [in the] thickets as is our custom; [and when] he had completed the five-year period, [he leased them again] for another five-year period [and a third time for] another two years. Since therefore, lord, [no one works the] thickets except by written contracts, but now […] he has compelled us to be dragged away [from our work] and to be taken to [whatever places] he himself [wished] […], we have taken refuge with you and ask, [if it please] your fortune, to hear us against [him, so that] […] we may make clear to you how […] the other thickets of the […] [… lost …]

The 'drymoi' are marshy thickets or reed beds used for fishing; the opening reference to a 'tomos' with number 30 suggests this is a copy from a roll of petitions. Much of the left side is restored.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Copia di una petizione al prefetto). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.

DDbDP-text Full record →

p.laur.1.1

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · 192 - 193 (?) · Arsinoites

[…] τόμου λ παρὰ[…]ωνος καὶ Σαραπίωνος Ἀκούιτος καὶ[…]…νο[…]…υριος Παλᾶτος καὶ Εὐπορᾶτος τοῦ[…] καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἁλιέων κώμης. ἔθος ἡμῖν ἐστιν, ἡγεμὼν κύριε, ἀπὸ τῶν γονέων ἡμῶν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἁλιευτικὴν ἐργασίαν καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἡμεῖς τὰς τροφὰς πορίζομεν εἰς τοὺς ἡμετέρους περὶ τὴν κώ…