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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 28203

Sale of a house-born slave and cession of katoikic land TM 28203ArsinoitesII

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 →

A fragmentary contract from the Arsinoite nome, dated to an eighth regnal year of an emperor styled Germanicus in the 2nd century AD, in which one woman, acting with her guardian, sells to another woman a house-born slave and also cedes some katoikic land. The seller acknowledges receipt of the full price and guarantees the sale.

In English machine translation

In the eighth year of Imperator Caesar […] Germanicus Augustus, in […] of the […] division of the Arsinoite nome, in the month […]. A[…] acknowledges […], aged about […] eight (?), with a scar on the eyebrow […], with her guardian […], to […] […], citizen woman, aged about […], scar […], with her guardian […], that she has sold and ceded to her by this agreement from the present day for ever the slave born in the house belonging to her, A[…], aged about […], scar […], this being such as it is, not subject to return except for leprosy (?) and epilepsy; and further, of the arouras belonging to A[…] near the village of […], of the […] cleruchic katoikic holding, […] arouras, neighbours […] […] access […] […] holding of […]takos […] […] own holding […] and that A[…] has received from […] […] the whole price of the cession in full, […] silver drachmas, forthwith from hand to hand out of the house; and that A[…] will guarantee to […] the things sold as aforesaid with every guarantee, which she will also keep free from claims and unmortgaged, and with no one hindering in any way […]

Most of the formulaic text is restored by the editor from parallel sale contracts. 'Epaphe' (a skin disease, perhaps leprosy) and epilepsy were standard exceptions under which a sold slave could be returned.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Venditionis instrumentum). 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.iand.4.54

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

ἔτους ὀγδόου Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος[…]Γερμανικοῦ Σεβαστοῦ ἐν[…]τῆς[…]μερίδος τοῦ Ἀρσινοΐτου νομοῦ μηνὸς[…]ὁμολογεῖ Α[…] […]ὡς ἐτῶν[…] ὀκτὼ οὐλὴ ὀφρύι[…]μετὰ κυρίου τοῦ ἑαυτῆς[…]τῇ[…] […]ος ἀστῇ ὡς ἐτῶν[…]οὐλὴ[…]μετὰ κυρίου τοῦ ἑαυτῆς[…] πεπρακέναι καὶ παρακεχωρηκέναι αὐτῇ κατὰ τήν…