p.lond.4.1465
[… ? lines lost …] ἐγένετο ἀπόβασις τῶν ὑδάτων τοῦ Τραιανοῦ τοῦ βαστάξαι αὐτὰ διὰ γῆς ἕως τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κλύσματος[…] τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς διώρυγος[…] τὸ τέταρτον ἐτάξαμεν διὰ τῆς διοικήσεώς σου[…] […] ὡς πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν ἀπέδρασεν.
One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 19916
Fragment of an official letter on the low water of Trajan's canal and transport to Klysma TM 19916Aphrodites Kome (Antaiopolites)709 - 714
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 an official letter, probably from the Arab governor of Egypt to the pagarch of Aphrodito, concerning the fall of the water level in Trajan's canal and the need to transport goods overland to Klysma on the Red Sea. It also mentions an assessment and the flight of many men; it dates to AD 709-714.
In English machine translation
[… lines lost …]
there was a fall (?) of the waters of the Trajan (canal)
to carry them overland as far as the same Klysma […]
the water of the canal […]
the fourth part we assigned through your administration (?) […]
[…] since a multitude of men ran away.
The 'river of Trajan' is the canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea at Klysma (near Suez); low water forced overland carriage. Flight of laborers and taxpayers is a recurring concern in the Aphrodito correspondence of governor Qurra ibn Sharik.
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.