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A letter from Palas, curator of a military post, to the decurion Marcus Caninius, explaining that he could not send on goods belonging to the ration-carrier Demetris because there were no pack animals to carry them. The goods are being kept until camels and horses can be found. It was found at the Roman quarry site of Mons Claudianus in the Eastern Desert and dates to the 2nd century AD.
Line 3 is garbled in the original spelling and its sense is uncertain; 'Raimai' appears to be the name of the fort Palas commanded. A kibariates (cibariator) was a soldier or worker responsible for food rations.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Lettre de Palas au décurion Marcus Caninius). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
Μάρκῳ Κανινίῳ δεκουρίωνι Παλᾶς κουράτωρ πραισιδίου Ῥαημαι χαίρειν. οὐκ εὐτόνησα τοῦ επεντεσιτηανου[…] κιβαριάτην Δημήτριν. οὐ γὰρ εὑρίσκω τίνι αὐτὰ ἐπιθεῖναι διὰ τὴν ἔνδειαν τῶν κτηνῶν. λοιπὸν τήρι αὐτὰ ὡς εὑροῦμέν σοι καὶ ἄλλους καμήλους καὶ ἵππους. μὴ αὐτά. ἔρρωσο.
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