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 short business letter from Paulos to Demetrios at Oxyrhynchus, sending river-workers to dig or work on a new cistern. Demetrios is to provide them with grain or sour wine and to collect two jars of cheese from the cultivators of the three water-wheels of Papsau for them.
The 'potamitai' (river-workers) were labourers attached to waterworks, probably on a large estate; 'mechanai' are irrigation water-wheels whose cultivators owed dues in kind. The verso text, probably the address, is lost.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter of Paulus to Demetrius). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
[r] κυρίῳ μου ἀδελφῷ Δημητρίῳ Παῦλος. τοὺς ποταμίτας ἀπέστειλα ὅπως ποιήσῃς αὐτοὺς ἐργάσασθαι εἰς τὸν καινὸν λάκκον. θέλησον ὅσον χρῄζουσι ἔν τε σίτῳ ἢ ὄξει παρασχοῦ αὐτοῖς, καὶ τοὺς γεωργοὺς τῶν τριῶν μηχανῶν τοῦ Παψαὺ ἀπαίτησον τυρῶν κεράμια δύο καὶ παρασχοῦ αὐτοῖς. ἐρρῶσθαί σε…
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