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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 1611

Letter to Polemon with instructions on handling and selling wine TM 1611unbekanntMitte III v.Chr.

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 →

Fragment of a Ptolemaic letter of the mid-3rd century BC addressed to Polemon, giving instructions about numbered jars or batches of wine: those going off are to be sent to be sold through a tavern, others moved about, and a jar at its prime sold locally if a buyer is found.

In English machine translation

[recto] […] … the [… jar (?)] … if it is turning bad (?), examine it carefully and, having tapped it (?), send it to me. For through the tavern these will be disposed of while still sound. And if no. 7 is still winy, send this one too. As for no. 8 and no. 9, move them from place to place and it will not get the better of us (?). But if no. 9 is fully at its prime, if it finds a buyer for you, sell it at a price on the spot, while with us […] […] [verso] To Polemon.

The numbers 7, 8 and 9 apparently designate numbered wine jars or vats. Several words (ναυσιᾶι, literally 'is seasick', and κομπάσας) are rare and their sense in winemaking is uncertain; the papyrus probably belongs to the Zenon archive.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below. 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.lond.7.2049

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · Mitte III v.Chr.

[r] [… ? lines lost …] … τὴν δε δ εἰ ναυσιᾶι σκεψάμενος ἀκριβῶς καὶ κομπάσας ἀπόστειλόν μοι. διὰ γὰρ τοῦ καπηλείου οἰκονομηθήσεται τάδε ἀκέραια. εἰ δὲ ἔτι οἰνώδης ἐστὶν καὶ ἡ ζ, καὶ ταύτην ἀπόστειλον. τὴν δὲ η καὶ θ μετακίνησον τόπον ἐκ τόπου καὶ οὐ καταδιώξει ἡμᾶς. εἰ δὲ τελέως …