Roman Will
Fragment of the middle leaf of a triptych (group of three tablets), with wax on both sides; it preserves parts of a Roman will, perhaps of a soldier or veteran
One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 78522
Fragments of a Roman will on a wax tablet TM 78522UnknownIInd century A.D.
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 →
Fragments of a Roman will in Latin, written on a wax tablet from a triptych, possibly made by a soldier or veteran. The surviving phrases include the standard clauses naming an heir, disinheriting all others, requiring formal acceptance of the inheritance within a set number of days, and making bequests. It dates to the 2nd century AD; its findspot is unknown.
In English machine translation
[Fragment A]
[…] […] to me (?)
let him be my heir; let all others be disinherited;
and let him make formal acceptance (of the inheritance) within the
next [60] days; and to him I give and bequeath
[if he is not heir] […]
[Fragment B]
[…] praetorian (?) […]
[…] and after the legacies have been deducted
[…] of my procurator (?)
[…]
[…]
[…]
[…]
The verb cernere refers to cretio, the formal declaration by which a Roman heir accepted an inheritance within a fixed period. The 60-day limit is a restoration based on the standard formula.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Roman Will). 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.mich.7.437
[FrA] [… ? lines lost …] […]mihi heres esto: ceteri omnes exheredes sunto: cernitoque in diebus lx proximis: eique do lego si heres non erit[…] [FrB] […]aetoria … […] deductisque legatis […]procuratoris mei [… 1 line lost …] [… 1 line lost …] [… 1 line lost …] [… ? lines lost …]