Letter of quarry workers to the procurator Probus announcing completion of a column TM 118505Mons Claudianus

A letter from the stone-cutters, contractors and smiths working at the imperial quarry of Mons Claudianus to Probus, the emperor's procurator. They announce that they have finished the first column, explain that the quarry it came from lies far from the fort toward Porphyrites and that they named it Philoserapis, and then raise complaints about provisions, their children, and the baker and grain.

In English machine translation

The word "column" and the month Hathyr are editorial restorations. Opsonia were cash or food allowances paid to workers; the HGV title calls the senders "pagani", the civilian (non-military) workforce.

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