One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 20887

Offer to lease flax land near Antipera Pela TM 20887Oxyrhynchos

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 →

Two Oxyrhynchite men, Aurelius Melas and Aurelius Zoilion, offer to lease 20 arouras near Antipera Pela from Aurelia Herakleidiaina, a woman of senatorial-equestrian rank, to grow flax for one year, paying money rent and tow, with free use of a retting pond. Written at Oxyrhynchus in year 14 of Gallienus (AD 266).

In English machine translation

To Aurelia Herakleidiaina, matrona stolata, daughter of Herakleides, former councillor of the most illustrious city of the Alexandrians, from the Aurelii Melas son of Melas, his mother being Athenarous, and Zoilion son of Dionysios, his mother being Sarapias, both from the city of Oxyrhynchus. We voluntarily undertake to lease for the present 14th year only, from the 26 arouras belonging to you near Antipera Pela in the kleros of Dionysios of Soli and the 10 1/2 1/32 arouras in the kleros of Diokles, lying in a single block, the 20 arouras on the desert side, to the north, from west to east, or however many they may be, more or less, for sowing flax, at a rent per aroura by survey of 300 silver drachmas, and for the whole 1 1/2 talents by weight of clean, fine tow, on condition that we the lessees have, without rent, for soaking the flax, the pond which you own near the same Antipera Pela, close to the cistern of Diogenis, lying within the whirlpool(?) of Pasineikos, from the month of Pachon. The rent shall be free from all risk, the public dues on the land being your responsibility as landowner, you having control of the crops until you receive what is owed. If the undertaking is confirmed to us, we shall pay the rent in these instalments: on Tybi 10, 1,000 drachmas, and from Pachon to Mesore, including Mesore itself, of the present 14th year, likewise on the 10th of each month the share falling to them, a fourth part, and the tow in the same month Mesore, satisfactory and full in weight, the right of execution being yours against us, each mutually guaranteeing the other, and against all our property. The undertaking is valid, and having been asked the formal question we have assented. Year 14 of Imperator Caesar Publius Licinius Gallienus Germanicus Maximus Persicus Maximus Pius Felix Augustus, Thoth 1(?)… I, Aurelia Herakleidiaina, have received the duplicate of this.

Matrona stolata was an honorific title for women of high rank. The pond is to be used for soaking (retting) flax stalks to extract fibre.

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 Flax-Land). 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.coll.youtie.2.68

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · Oxyrhynchos

Αὐρηλίᾳ Ἡρακλειδιαίνῃ ματρώνᾳ στολάτᾳ θυγατρὶ Ἡρακλείδου γενομένου βουλευτοῦ τῆς λαμπροτάτης πόλεως τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων παρὰ Αὐρηλίων Μέλανος Μέλανος μητρὸς Ἀθηναροῦτος καὶ Ζωιλίωνος Διονυσίου μητρὸς Σαραπιάδος ἀμφοτέρων ἀπʼ Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως. ἑκουσίως ἐπιδεχόμεθα μισθώσασθαι πρὸς μόν…