Egypt Exploration Society

Papyrus BM EA 10075 and Papyrus Bodleian Ms. Egypt. a. 41 (P): Two Halves of a Ptolemaic
Contract of Sale Reunited
Author(s): Maria Cannata
Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 92 (2006), pp. 185-203
Published by: Egypt Exploration Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40345903
Accessed: 31-03-2016 11:53 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Egypt Exploration Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

PAPYRUS BM EA 10075 AND PAPYRUS BODLEIAN MS.

EGYPT. A. 41 (P): TWO HALVES OF A PTOLEMAIC

CONTRACT OF SALE REUNITED*
By MARIA CANNATA
Publication of Papyrus Bodleian MS. Egypt, a. 41 (P) together with a new edition of Papyrus BM EA
10075. The documents are written in the Demotic script and concern the sale of a property located
within the Anubieion in the Memphite necropolis by Nhf-nb=f son of Hr-nd-it-f, together with his
brethren, to their cousin, the woman Ts.t-wry.t daughter of Pl-ti-nfr-tm. The contracts were written

by Pa-hrt son of Hr-si-is.t the younger, in year 18 of Ptolemy XII Auletes (Neos Dionysos) (64 bc).

The papyri published here are the two legal documents that, together, constituted a typical
Egyptian contract of sale of the Ptolemaic Period: a sh-dbt-hd (P. BM EA 10075) (Text A), or
document of money, and a sh-n-wy (Bodl. MS. Egypt, a. 41 (P)) (Text B), or deed of cession.

Papyrus BM EA 100751 was originally part of the collection of Egyptian antiquities

assembled by the British diplomat Henry Salt. These were auctioned at Sotheby's in 1835
when this manuscript was purchased by the British Museum, where it is now held.2 Nothing
is known of its exact place of acquisition, although from internal evidence it is possible to
show that it originally came from the Memphite necropolis. The other contract, Text B,3
now part of the collection of manuscripts in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, originally

belonged to the Hon. Robert Curzon, fourteenth Baron Zouche, who appears to have
acquired it sometime in 1833 during his travels to Egypt and the Near East.4 A catalogue of
his collection was privately printed in 1849.5 Again, no information is available on the exact

place of acquisition of the papyrus. The Curzon collection of Egyptian antiquities was
* This paper is part of my MPhil thesis submitted to
Oxford University in 2003 and was completed while in
receipt of the Randall-Mclver Studentship, for which I
would like to thank the Governing Body of The Queen's
College, Oxford. I would like to express my gratitude to
my supervisor Prof. M. Smith for bringing to my attention

Papyrus Bodleian MS. Egypt, a. 41 (P) as a subject for my

thesis, for reading the first draft of this article and for his

Sprache und Schrift der demotischen Kaufvertrdge aus

ptolemdischer Zeit (Wiesbaden, 1968), 71-2 Urkunden 95;
J. Forshall, Description of the Greek Papyri in the British

Museum (London, 1839), 68 no. 42; Sotheby's, Catalogue

of the Collection of Egyptian Antiquities. The Property of

Henry Salt which will be Sold by Auction (London, 1835),
31 no. 418.

2 Jelinkova, JEA 43, 45; W. R. Dawson and E. P.

Uphill, Who Was Who in Egyptology* , rev. by M. L.

many suggestions and invaluable advice. I would also like

to thank the Bodleian Library, particularly D. Nicholson,
for permission to publish the document, as well as for her

Bierbrier (London, 1995), 371.

Wakefield for information on the acquisition of the document. My thanks are also due to V. Davies, Keeper of the
Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, for permission
to publish P. BM EA 10075 and to R. B. Parkinson for his
assistance during my visit to the British Museum. Finally,
I would like to express my gratitude to C. Martin and K.

and Hodge, Catalogue of Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek,

Roman and Peruvian Antiquities etc. (London, 1922), 45

help in obtaining photographs of the papyrus, and C.

Donker van Heel for their helpful suggestions and com-

ments on the first draft of this article.

1 Previous bibliography: E. A. E. Jelinkova, 'Sale of

Inherited Property in the First Century B.C. (P. Brit.
Mus. 10075, ex Salt coll. No. 418)', ^.4 43 (1957), 45-55,

3 Previous bibliography: C. Wakefield, 'Notes and

Documents: the Egyptian Papyri in the Bodleian
Library', The Bodleian Library Record 14/1 (1991), 94-7.

I thank M. Smith for this reference. Sotheby, Wilkinson

lot no. 348.

4 The auction catalogue states that the antiquities were

collected personally by Curzon (Sotheby, Wilkinson and

Hodge, Catalogue, 43).

5 Dawson and Uphill, Who Was Who3, 113; R.

Curzon, Catalogue of Materials for Writing: Early
Writings on Tablets and Stones, Rolled and other

pl. v; E. A. E. Jelinkova, 'Sale of Inherited Property in the

Manuscripts and Oriental Manuscript Books, in the Library

of the Honourable Robert Curzon at Parham in the County

Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt. A Contribution to

Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (P. L. Bat. 9;

uments in the collection are clearly identified in the cata-

First Century B.C. (P. Brit. Mus. 10075, ex Salt coll. No.
418)', JEA 45 (1959), 61-74; P. W. Pestman, Marriage and

Leiden, 1961), 130-1; U. Wilcken, Urkunden der

Ptolemderzeit (dltere Funde), I. Papyri aus Unterdgypten

(Berlin and Leipzig, 1927), 621 docket no. 142; K.-Th.

Zauzich, Die dgyptische Schreibertradition in Aufbau,

of Sussex (London, 1849). Only two of the Demotic doc-

logue, both of which are royal edicts, while separate

entries list several other papyri which are described as
being still rolled (see Curzon, Catalogue, 7-9). Thus, it
remains uncertain whether Text B was already part of the
collection when the catalogue was published.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

186 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

Table 1 . Genealogical table of the parties concerned

^[Pi-ti-ij-m-htp - I

^ P?-ti-nfr-tm-y T;y-r-r=w ^ %^Nht=w-s

called m

h 1^-wry.t |

^ Nht-nb=f %[ Hr-m-hy ^ Hr-m-hy fij Tt-sr.t-hr-m- hy

eventually sold at Sotheby's on the 2 November 1922,6 when the present document was
acquired by the British Egyptologist F. LI. Griffith, who later presented it to the Bodleian
Library in Oxford.7
P. BM EA 10075: Text A

Description of the papyrus

The papyrus (figs. 1-2) is light brown and consists of eight kollemata. The first measures
4.7 cm in width while the last one is only 2.8 cm wide. The sizes of the remaining six sheets
range between 13.3 and 14.4 cm in width. The sheets are joined left upon right with an
overlap of 1.2 to 1.4 cm. The overall dimensions of the manuscript, as preserved, are 89 cm
in length by 29.2 cm in height. Since its acquisition the roll has been pasted onto a cardboard

backing before being mounted in a wooden frame. The papyrus is in reasonably good
condition except for a few gaps in the lower part and on the left-hand side of the roll. The
damage has resulted in a few lacunae in the text, although most of these can be restored on
the basis of its Bodleian counterpart. The text is written on the recto, parallel to the fibres.
In the lower right corner there appears to be the signature of the father of party A, while in
the upper left corner of the roll there is a small inscription which reads Is.t-wry(.t)y possibly

the name of the B contracting party. A docket written in Greek is also appended to the
contract. At the back of the frame a small window of 10 by 16.8 cm has been cut to show
the list of witnesses who signed the contract, which is inscribed below a horizontal line
surmounted by a curved sign resembling the writing of the noun sp (see fig. 2).8 According
to Pestman, the position of this sign on the verso marks the position, on the recto, of the
verb d with which the parties are introduced.9 However, this rule does not apply in every
instance since in Text A the sign starts approximately 12.7 cm to the left of the verb d.xo

6 Dawson and Uphill, Who Was Who\ 113.

7 An entry on the manuscripts' handlist in the

Bodleian Library records that the document was acquired

together with Bodl. MS. Egypt, a. 40(P) and that both

papyri were presented to the Library by Griffith on 13

November 1922.

8 For a discussion of these signs see M. A. Nur-el-Din,

'The Sign Heading the List of Witnesses in Demotic

Legal Texts', MDAIK 37 (1981), 383-8; P. W. Pestman, //

processo di Hermias e altri documenti delVarchivio del choachiti (P. Tor. Choachiti) . Papiri greci e demotici conservati a

Torino e in altre collezioni d'ltalia (Turin, 1992), 225-32.

The sign heading the line above the witnesses' list on the
verso of P. BM EA 10075 does not appear to be among the
examples found in the previous bibliography (n.i).
9 II processo di Hermias > 225.
10 The horizontal line extends 1.6 cm on the left and 4

cm on the right-hand side of the space occupied by the

witnesses' signatures. However, because of the small size
of the opening left at the back of the frame, neither the
beginning nor the end of the line is visible. Therefore, I

am unable to determine whether the line extended to the

end of the d on the recto of the papyrus.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 187

<D
C/3

JS
c/o

'u
CQ
<u

tj

in

<

CQ

<
x

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

188 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

Transliteration

Recto (fig. 1)
(1) hl.t-sp 18 ibt A ih.t sw 2 n (pr-ri)\r-ws- (ptwlmyis)\rws- pi ntr mr if mr sn irm ni wrb.w V ni
(pr-ri.w)\rws- nt iw-w sh n-im-w n rr-qt

d sw.t rmt pr-hn-inpw nt hr ni shn.w V mn-nfr nhf-nb=f si hr-nd-if=f hnr mi-nn hr-m-hy
pi ri si hr-nd-it-f hnr hr-m-hy p[i h]m si hr-nd-it-f hnr shm.t ti-sr.[t-hr-m]-hy si.t hr-nd-

it=f
(2) r s 3 ni sn.w hm.w n nht-nb-f nt hry r s 4 nwr n mw.t-w nht-w-s n shm.t is.t-wry.t si.t piti-nfr-tm d.t n=f irs mw.t-s tiy-r-r-w

tw-t mtr hiX-n n pi hd rpiy-n r.wy nt [q]t iw-f hbs iw-f mh V sbi sst nt ir mh-[ntr] 18
npi rs r pr mhf hr-h mh-[ntr 6] n pi imnt r pr iibt

(3) hnr tiy-n [h] .t-nwt my=n mhr.w nt qt hr n=[w] nt ir n=f mht nt n pr-hn-inpw hr rt rs hff.h

V inpw tp-tw-j pi ntr ri nt hn nt nb iir ph r-hr-n n tni.t n rn shm.t nht-w-s si.t pi-ti-ijm-htp mw.t-s is.t-wry.t tiy-n mw.t ti sn.t tiy-t mw.t ni[y]=w hyn.w
rs pi r.wy n shm.t [ta]-by r wn-ni.w

(4) hr d-hr si hr-pi-rr nt hr ni hrf.w niy-f hrt.w

mht hft.h V inpw tp-tw-f pi ntr ri
imnt pi r.wy n rnh-hp r wn-ni.w hr shm.t ta-mr-wr tiy-f sr.t nt hr ni hrf.w my=s hrf.w

iibf pi r.wy n [pa]-ih.t nt hr kt-h.t rmt r pi h(y)r iwt-w

r tmt

mtw-tpl r.wy [t]i [h].t-nwt ni mhr.w [nt hry nt iw] niy-w hy.w niy-w hyn.w s[h hry r-h pi]
nt sh hry [m]n

(5) mtw-n mt nb n pi ti iir n-t n rn~w t pi hrw r-hry pi nt iw-f (r) ij r-hr-t dbl.t-w iw~n r
ti wy=f r-hr-t mtw-n ti wrb.w n-t r sh nb knb.t nb mt nb n pi ti mtw-t sh nb r-[i]r=w rr-w hn[r] sh nb r-ir-w n=n r-r-w hnr sh nb qnb.t nb nt iw=[n] mir.k n-im-w n [r]n=w
mtw-t st hnr niy-w h[p] [mtw]=t pi nt iw~n mir.k n-im-f n rn-w pi [rn]h pi (ti) rhr r[d.f]

(6) nt iw-w r ti.t s m-si-t r ti ir=n s n rn-w iw-n r ir=f

iw sw.f rmt n pi tmy nt hry hr-nd-it-f si pi-ti-wsir-hp mw.t-f ta-ij-m-htp pi if pi s 4 nt hry

d iiry mt nb nt hry hi.f-y mtr.w n-im-w tw-tn (sic) m-si-y (r) ir n-t r-h mt nb nt h[ry] pi

nt iw bn iw pi s [4 my=y] hrf.[w] nt hry ir=f n=[t] iw-y ir-f n-t h[n hrw 5 n pi ib]t rn-f
n htr [iwf] mn

i\w-w d n pi s] 5
(7) iw-t m-si ply-t mr n-im-n r pi s 5 r ir n-t pi hp n pi sh nt hry iir-t mr hpr m-si-n n pi s
5 ii[r]=t r hp[r]
[r s]h pa-hrf si hr-si-is.t pi hm

Upper left corner:

is.t-wry(.t)

Lower right corner:

sh hr-nd-\it-j si pi-ti-wsir]-hp
Greek docket:

'Apeioq. dvayeypaTCTai 5id [xov ev x]c5i Avoupieicoi <ypa())eio\)> ewvq ir\ Xoia% p.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 189

Fig. 2. Text A: P. BM EA 10075 verso (copyright the British Museum).

Verso: List of witnesses (fig. 2)

1 . p!-ti-ij-m-htp s? ...
2. hr-nd-if=f si rpa-tr.f
3. d-hr s? ij-m-htp

4. pa-tr.t si pi- ..?

5. hr s; ij-m-htp
6. rwn-nf/1 si hr-^m-hy1]
7. twt si twt

8. riw=f-rnh* si rpa-nhf
9. twt si hr-nd-it-f
10. mnh s?rwrs-nfr^
1 1 . rtwt si p?-tj-[rwsir-hp^\
12. ... # ...
Translation

(1) Regnal year 18, fourth month of the inundation season, day 2a of (Pharaoh)!1 Ph
(Ptolemaios15)!1?11 the god who loves (his) father (and) who loves (his) sister, and the
priests of the (Pharaohs)| l -p h- who are registered at Alexandria.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

190 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

Has declared the merchant0 from the Anubieiond which is in the districtse off Memphis,^
Nhf-nb=f son of Hr-nd-if=f,h together with Hr-m-hy the elder, of the same profession,
son of Hr-nd-if=f, together with Hr-m-hy the younger, son of Hr-nd-it=fy together with
the woman Ti-sr.t-hr-m-hy daughter of Hr-nd-it=f,

(2) being 3 persons, the younger brethren of1 Nhf-nb=f aforesaid, being 4 persons with one
voice, their mother being Nhf=w-s, to (the) woman Is.t-wry.t daughter of Pt-ti-nfr-tm,
called trs, her mother being Tty-r-r=wJ
'You have caused our heart to agree to the money for our house,k which is built, it being

roofed, it being complete with1 door and window (and) which measures 18 [god's]m
cubits" from the south to the north by [6 god's]-cubits from the west to the east,

(3) together with our cloth-[pla]ceP (and) our storehouses that are built at the[ir] entrance,^
which are to its north, and which are in the Anubieion on (the) southern side of the
dromos of Anubis-who-is-upon-his-mountain,r the great god, (and) which includes
everything that came to uss as a share in (the) name (of the) woman Nhf=w-s daughter
of Pi-ti-ij-m-htp, her mother being Is.t-wry.t, our mother, the sister of your mother.

T[he]ir neighbours (are):

south, the house of the woman [Td\-byx that was
(4) held by D-hr son of Hr-p;-rru (and) which is (now) held by the children of his offspring;
north, (the) dromos of Anubis-who-is-upon-his-mountain, the great god;
west, the house of rnh-hp that was held by (the) woman Ta-mr-wry his daughter, (and)
which is (now) held by the children of her offspring;
east, the house of [Pa]-ih.t,v which is held by other people, while the alley (of the house)
is between [them].
Totalling (the neighbours).

To you belong the house, the cloth-place (and) the storehouses [aforesaid, who]se
measurements and boundaries are writ[ten ab]ove,w in accordance with that which is
written above. We do not

(5) have any claim at all against you on account of them from today onwards.
(As for) any one who shall proceed against you in their name, we will cause him to be
far from you and we will cause that they are clear for you from any document, any title,

any claim at all.

To you belong every document that has been drawn up concerning them, and every
document which has been drawn up for us concerning them, and every document and

every title by virtue of which we are entitled in respect of them. They belong to you
together with the right conferred by them. To you belongs that by virtue of which we
are entitled in respect of them. The oath (or) the proofx
(6) which will be imposed on you to cause that we swear it, we will swear it.'
While the merchant, a man from the said settlement,? Hr-nd-i}=f son of Pi-ti-wsir-hp,
his mother being Ta-ij-m-htp, the father of the 4 persons aforesaid, declares:2 'Execute
all (the) aforesaid matters, my heart is satisfied with them. Youaa have a legal claim on
me (to) act for you in accordance with everything aforesaid. That which the [4] persons
aforesaid, [my] children, will not do for you, I will do it for you with[in 5 days of the]
said [month], by compulsion, [without delay]. 'bb
While the 5 persons say:
(7) 'You havecc a legal claim against any one of us you want, totalling the 5 persons, to fulfil
for you the obligation of the aforesaid deed. Should you wish to make a legal claim
against us, as the 5 persons, you will be (able to have a claim)/
Wrote Pa-hrf son of Hr-[s?-is].t the younger. dd

Upper left corner:

Is.t-wry(.t)

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 191

Lower right corner:

Wrote Hr-nd-[if=f son of P?-ti-wsir]-hpx
Greek docket:^

Areios. It was registered in the grapheion in the Anubieion in year 18 day 2, Khoiak.11
Verso: List of witnesses
1 . Pt-ti-ij-m-htp son of r. . . ""hh

2. Hr-nd-it=fil son of rP?-tr.t*n

3 . D-hrkk son of Ij-m-htp
4. Pi-tr.txx son of Pi- ...lmm

5. Hr son of Ij-m-htp
6. rWn-nfrlnn son of Hr-^m-hy1]00
7. Twt son of Twt

8. 'iw-pnli pp son of rPa-nhf^

9. Twt son of Hr-nd-it=f
10. Mnh" son of rJVrs-nfr^
1 1 . rTwfn son of Pt-tj-fwsir-hp1]
12. r...lvv son of r...n
Notes on translation

(a) The date corresponds to 8 December 64 BC in the eighteenth year of rule of Ptolemy XII
Auletes (Neos Dionysos).12
(b) Contrary to the general tendency to write the endings of Greek names in a very abbreviated
form, where in some cases the letters m, y and s in the name Ptolemy are reduced to a single stroke
each,13 the writing of the name of the king shows in this document a full writing. The scribe appears

to have inserted a final short aleph i between the letters y and s, which may represent an attempt to
render the Greek ending loq, since it would appear that the sequence iota followed by a vowel was
transcribed into Demotic as y!.u I have translated the name of the king as Ptolemaios both to have a
more accurate rendering of the Demotic word, and to be able to show how much of the same name
survives in line 7 of Text B.

(c) For a discussion of the word sw.f see Hughes15 and Pierce.16
(d) The Pr-hn-Inpw}1 literally the 'Temple of the (sacred) chest of Anubis', is already attested in
hieroglyphic texts such as the Louvre Serapeum stela 328 (3689). 18 Some texts, such as the two texts
published here and P. Brooklyn 37.1796E, identify the Pr-hn-'Inpw as the location of a settlement.19
ii Jelinkova, JEA 43, 54, and JEA 45, 62; Wilcken,

textual evidence indicating that there existed, at least in

12T. C. Skeat, The Reigns of the Ptolemies (Munich,

1954).
13 W. Clarysse, G. Van der Veken and S. P. Vleeming,

cialised in the trading and selling of specific commodities

such as oil, resin, rushes, cloth and clothing.
17 The correct reading of the word was supplied by
Pierce, Three Demotic Papyri, 40-1 . The term had previously been read as Pr-grg-Jnpw by F. de Cenival, 'Un acte
de renonciation consecutif a un partage de revenues

Urkunden der Ptolemderzeit, 621 docket no. 142.

The Eponymous Priests of Ptolemaic Egypt. Chronological

Lists of the Priests of Alexandria and Ptolemais with a

Study of the Demotic Transcription of their Names (P. L.
Bat. 24; Leiden, 1983), 159.
14 The aleph is generally found in transcriptions of
feminine names ending in vowels, such as in the writing of
the town-name of Ptolemais, and it is used to distinguish
the feminine from the correspondent masculine form; see

Clarysse, Van der Veken and Vleeming, The Eponymous

Priests, 150-1 and 159.
15 G. R. Hughes, 'Are there Two Demotic Writings of

swV, MDAIK 14 (1956), 80-8.

16 R. H. Pierce, Three Demotic Papyri in the Brooklyn

Museum. A Contribution to the Study of Contracts and their

Instruments in Ptolemaic Egypt (Symbolae Osloenses Fasc.

Suppl. 24; Oslo, 1972), 38-40. See also D. J. Thompson,

Memphis under the Ptolemies (Princeton, 1988), 73, for

the Memphite area, a number of merchants who spe-

liturgiques memphites (P. Louvre E 3266)', BIFAO 71

(1972), 60 n. 45.
18 Pierce, Three Demotic Papyri, 40-1; H. De
Meulenaere, 'Les monuments du culte des rois
Nectanebo', CdE 35 (1960), 94. During the Ptolemaic

Period the temple precinct was known in Greek as the

Anubieion. For the archaeological excavation of the area
see D. G. Jeffreys, H. S. Smith and M. Jessop Price, The
Anubieion at Saqqdra, I. The Settlement and the Temple
Precinct (EES Excavation Memoirs 54; London, 1988).
19 P. W. Pestman, J. Quaegebeur and R. L. Vos, Recueil
de textes demotiques et bilingues, I. Transcriptions (Leiden,

1977), 39, 50-7; Pierce, Three Demotic Papyri, 13-18 line

27; De Meulenaere, CdE 35, 103-4.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

1 92 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

(e) For this reading see Pestman et al.20

(f) Only small traces of the genitive n survive.
(g) Although damaged, it is possible to discern a short line above the sign nfr in the writing of this
toponym. According to Pestman et al.21 the stroke sometimes found above the signs mn and nfr is not

part of the writing of Mn-nfr; rather, they suggest, it represents the writing of the genitive n.
However, this seems contradicted by the evidence of our texts, where the toponym is written with a
small stroke above the sign nfr, while the genitive n seems to be written before the word Mn-nfr. The
examples given in the Demotishes Glossar22 show the writing of the word both with and without this
sign.

(h) Demotisches Namenbuch, 825-7; Prosopographia Ptolemaica V, no. 13529.23 The name had been
read as Hr-ri by Jelinkova.24 For this name see Griffiths25 and Fecht.26

(i) The stroke is rather long and looks more like r than n. However, I have taken it as an n because
this is what we would expect to find.
(j) Demotisches Namenbuch, 7. The reading of the name was given by Jelinkova as Tfy-e-r.w.11 For
this name see Vittmann.28

(k) The following is a schematic reconstruction of the house and its neighbours:
Dromos of Anubis-who-is-upon-his-mountain

the great god lAl

House of rnn-hp g House of Pa-ih.t

Storehouses and cloth-place %

previously held by his daughter Ta-mr-wr

and now occupied by the children of her *S

offspring *g

House >>

<!
House of the woman Ta-by
previously held by D-hr son of Hr-p?-rr
and now occupied by the children of his offspring

Jelinkova speculated that the 'merchants' houses in the Anubieion were an endowed institution to
which a special sort of fund was assigned', since in P. Leiden 374 I- 1 1 and in P. Leiden 380 'the
merchant's house held by the necropolis servants is defined as ry-sdy n swty - endowed house of the
merchant'.29 She suggested that such funds could derive from the trade of corn for which, according
to P. Vatican 22, these houses were used. As such, the neighbouring properties of the house which is
the object of transaction in Texts A and B are mentioned 'to indicate the source of these benefits'
since, she stated, this was 'the usual practice of all the settlements of the necropolis servants in which
the foundations are mentioned instead of the rent they provide'.30 From this Jelinkova concludes that

'the subject-matter of this transaction must have been only the sale of the benefits provided by this
merchant's estate, since the former owner was a woman; now the estate was held by four persons, one

of them being a woman also. Finally, this property came into the possession of a woman'.31 The

contracts recorded in P. Leiden 374 I- 1 1 and P. Leiden 380 concern the sale of revenues from the
20 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes

22 W. Erichsen, Demotisches Glossar (Copenhagen,

26 G. Fecht, Wortakzent und Silbenstruktur.

Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der dgyptischen Sprache
(Gluckstadt, Hamburg and New York, 1960), 369.
27 JEA 43, 53 line 2.

23 W. Peremans and E. Van't Dack, Prosopographia

Ptolemaica, V, (Louvain, 1963), 100. Following Jelinkova's reading, the authors list the name as Hor-ar. See

28 G. Vittmann, 'Between Grammar, Lexicography

and Religion. Observations on Some Demotic Personal
Names', Enchoria 24 (1997/8), 90-2.
^ JEA AS, 69 n. 21.

demotiques et bilingues, II. Traductions, 11, 22, 46 n. i, 102.

21 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos. Recueil de textes I. 39.

1954), 161.

also next note.

24 JEA 43, 53 line 1. For the correct reading see

Zauzich, Agyptische Schreibertradition, 286 n. 566; K.-Th.

Zauzich, 'Zur Herkunft und Datierung des Papyrus 8699
verso des Museo egizio di Firenze' , JEA 49 (1963), 178-9;

and G. Botti, 'Minima Demotica', Acta Orientalia 25

(1960), 192-3.
25 J. G. Griffiths, 'The Meaning of J l^ nd and ndhr\JEA 37 (1951), 32-7.

30 Jelinkova, JEA 45, 69 n. 21 . The term '.wy is indeed

often used in contracts regulating the religious associations, although, according to F. de Cenival (Les associations religieuses en Egypte d'apres les documents demotiques

(Cairo, 1972), 21-2), the term should probably be interpreted more liberally as 'temple' rather than literally as

'house'.

^ JEA AS, 69 n. 21.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 193

performance of liturgies,32 while Jelinkova's suggestion is not corroborated by the available evidence.
In fact, both loan and lease documents include a clause prescribing that the repayment be made at the

house of the creditor.33 Finally, Jelinkova's conclusion that the contract recorded on our Text A, and
consequently Text B, must refer to the sale of these benefits rather than to the house itself on the
basis of the sex of the owners is also without foundation since it is known that the legal status of
women in ancient Egypt was not different from that of men.34
(1) Although the stroke is rather long and looks more like r than w, I have taken it as an n because
this is what we would expect to find.
(m) The restoration is based on Text B.
(n) During the Ptolemaic Period the standard god's-cubit appears to have measured 52.5 cm;35
therefore, the property object of the transaction measured 29.7 square metres.
(o) The restoration is based on Text B.
(p) Jelinkova translated this compound word as 'mill' from the Coptic term for this utility.36 The
same word occurs also in P. Innsbruck,37 P. Louvre 3264 and 3268,38 and in P. Cairo 30602 and 30603:39

y*}?lZ& P. BM EA 10075, line 3

t*J.id*f} *f//A Bodl. MS. Egypt, a. 41(P), line 3

J$i> tO"f ** P. Innsbruck, line 5

GJjJJ**Uf> P. Cairo 30602, line 6

4m*UJ&'*te P. Cairo 30603, line 6

4fW Zj 7)/A*2C P. Louvre 3268, line 3
Spiegelberg, in his translation of the Cairo papyri, transliterated the word as h.t nU.t leaving the term

untranslated, 'nti.t Haus';40 Revillout, in his publication of P. Louvre 3268, translated the word as
'grangeage',41 while Sethe, in his translation of Papyrus Innsbruck, read the word as 'Mahlhauses'.42
The same word occurs in P. Mallawi 602/9-77/943 found at Sharunah, in Middle Egypt, where the
structure is also associated with a house and some plots of land. The author accepts Jelinkova's
reading of the term and its translation as 'mill'.44 Jelinkova45 suggested that the same word could also
32 See J. H. Johnson, 'The Role of the Egyptian
Priesthood in Ptolemaic Egypt', in L. H. Lesko (ed.),
Egyptological Studies in Honor of Richard A. Parker
(Hanover and London, 1986), 79, where the author suggests that the word r.wy in the expression r.wy-sdy is to be
understood as an abbreviation for r.wy n htp or tomb chapel.

33 C. J. Martin, 'Marriages, Wills and Leases of Land:

Some Notes on the Formulae of Demotic Contracts', in

M. J. Geller, H. Maehler and A. D. E. Lewis (eds), Legal

Documents of the Hellenistic World. Papers from a Seminar
Arranged by the Institute of Classical Studies, the Institute
of Jewish Studies and the Warburg Institute. University of

London, February to May 1986 (London, 1995), 76 6.

See also K. Sethe and J. Partsch, Demotische Urkunden
zum dgyptischen Burgschaftsrechte vorziiglich der
Ptolemderzeit (Leipzig, 1920), 227 31; and Pierce, Three

Demotic Papyri, 54-5 45.

34 See, for example, J. H. Johnson, 'The Legal Status

of Women in Ancient Egypt', in A. K. Capel and G. E.

Markoe (eds), Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven.
Women in Ancient Egypt (New York, 1996), 175; and J.
Rowlandson, Women and Society in Greek and Roman
Egypt (Cambridge, 1998), 156.
35 M. Depauw, A Companion to Demotic Studies
(Brussels, 1997), 166; see also S. P. Vleeming, 'Demotic
Measures of Length and Surface, Chiefly of the

Ptolemaic Period', in P. W. Pestman (ed.), Textes et etudes

de papyrologie grecque, demotique et copte (P. L. Bat. 23;

Leiden, 1985), 208-10, for further discussion on length

and surface measures used in the Ptolemaic Period.

JEA45, 69-70 n. 23.

37 W. Spiegelberg, 'Papyrus Innsbruck', RecTrav 25
(1903), 4-6.
38 E. M. Revillout, 'Un quasi-mariage apres concubinat', Revue egyptologique 2 (1882), 91-2 and n. 2. A facsimile of the text is reproduced on pl. 30; the word shows
a feminine t ending.

39 W. Spiegelberg, Die demotischen Denkmdler

30601-31270 50001-50022, II. Die demotischen Papyrus,

Text (Strasburg, 1908), 3-14. For P. Cairo 30602, see pl.
iv; for P. Cairo 30603, see pl. vi. The word shows a feminine t endine in both instances.

40 Die demotischen Denkmdler II, 5-6 line 6, 9, 1 1 line 6.

41 Revillout, Revue egyptologique 2, 91 n. 2.

42 Sethe and Partsch, Burgschaftsrechte, 738.

43 The document, which concerns agreements

between lector priests in the necropolis of H.t-nsw, present day Kom el-Ahmar Sawaris, was published by O. el-

Aguizy, 'A Demotic Deed of "Not Hindering" from

Sharunah', BIFAO 89 (1989), 89-99, pls. xi-xii.

44 El-Aguizy, BIFAO 89, 95 n. i. The author also com-

ments on the fact that the occurrence of this word in a

document from Middle Egypt indicates that its use was

not confined to Lower Egypt as previously believed.

45J^45,69-70n. 23.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

194 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

be found in both P. New York 37346 and P. Leiden 378.47 However, these are clearly examples of a
term different from that found in Texts A and B.

The expression h.t-nw} is a compound word constructed using the term h.t, possibly with the
generic meaning of 'place', and the word nwf meaning 'wrapping* or simply 'cloth'. The latter
originates from the hieroglyphic term nwdt f^^ |' which indicates some kind of wrapping such
as, for example, that used to wrap babies.48 The compound word is probably to be understood as a
term for a place where cloth was stored and possibly also made.49 I have opted for a literal translation

without specifying the exact use of such a place because this cannot be inferred from the text.50 A
Greek text, PSI III, no. 167, 51 provides further evidence for the presence of textile ateliers in private

homes among the Greek population.52

(q) The last sign appears to be the writing for the third person plural suffix pronoun w> although
the top curve is but a faint mark. The long sign, which at first looks like the third person singular
suffix pronoun/, is, in my opinion, part of the writing of the determinative of the noun tw in tp-tw=f
in the line below. The stroke is longer than usual and seems to run over the sign on the previous line.

The same word in Text B employs the third person plural suffix pronoun w.
(r) According to Pestman the small stroke between the words hff.h and Inpw is the long oblique
stroke found in Memphite texts as part of the writing for the initial sign in the word Inpw rather than
the genitive w.53

(s) On the expression ph r used to refer to assets which 'devolve upon' the heirs, see Pestman.54
(t) Demotisches Namenbuch, 1172. The name can be reconstructed from the two documents since
the beginning of the word is preserved in Text B, while the ending survives in Text A. Jelinkova could
only propose [...]-fry-(?) as a reading.55 For this name see Vittmann,56 and Miiller and Vittmann.57
(u) Demotisches Namenbuch, 803. The reading Hr-s?-p!-rr suggested by Jelinkova is incorrect.58 For
this name and its different versions see el-Sayed.59

(v) The name is almost entirely preserved in Text B with only the animal determinative missing.
The latter is clear in Text A although the initial pa is not preserved on the papyrus. Jelinkova
correctly suggested the reading ih.t for the second part of the name.60 The name does not appear to

be listed in the Demotisches Namenbuch.

(w) The restoration of nt hry nt iw niy=.w hy.w my-w hyn.w sh hry is based partly on the extant

traces of the words in Text A, and partly on the parallel line in Text B, line 4, also quite damaged at
this point. I follow Jelinkova in restoring nt hry in the lacuna because the gap seems too large for nt
iw alone. Among the texts analysed by Zauzich,61 our Text A would appear to be the only example in
46 N. J. Reich, 'New Documents from the Serapeum of

Memphis', Mizraim 1 (1933), 1-129. Reich transliterated

the word as nhy and tentatively translated it as 'shed'. For

this word see also Erichsen. Dp.mntisr.hps Glnss/ir 111

cated in P. Tebtunis 5 (lines 245-7), in B. P. Grenfell,

A. S. Hunt and J. G. Smyly, The Tebtunis Papyri, I
(London, 1902), 55; and OGIS 90 (lines 17-18 and
29-30), in W. Dittenberger, Orientis graeci inscriptiones

47 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I, 28

n. 14, and II, 33 n. m. The authors also transliterated the

selectae. Supplementum sylloges inscriptionum graecarum, I

word as nhj.t. accepting 'shed' as a possible translation.

Janot, Les instruments d'embaumement de VEgypte ancienne

48 R. Hannig, Die Sprache der Pharaonen. Grofies

Handworterbuch Agyptisch-Deutsch (2800-950 v. Chr.)
(Mainz, 1995), 400. The word nwf is not found in the

Demotisches Glossar; I thank M. Smith for its translation

and the reference to its hieroglyphic counterpart.

49 Similar expressions are: hwt-bd and hwt-hsmn, 'place

of natron', hwt-mnnn, 'place of bitumen', hwt-nwb, 'place of
gold', hwt-dfiw, 'place of provisions' and hwt-mnht, 'place
of cloth', all of which use the construction h.t plus product-

name to indicate a place where the substance mentioned

was produced and/or stored. For the listed expressions see

Hannig, Die Sprache der Pharaonen, 516-17; F. R. Herbin,
Le livre deparcourir Veternite (OLA 58; Leuven, 1994), 554;
J. Vandier, Le papyrus Jumilhac (Paris, 1962), 331-2, 159 n.
164; D. Arnold, Wandrelief und Raumfunktion in a'gyptischen Tempeln des Neuen Retches (Berlin, 1962), 78-82. I

thank M. Smith for these references.

50 Given the large quantities of cloth employed during

the mummification process of both humans and animals,
the presence within the Anubieion of a merchant specialising in the sale, and possibly in the production, of textiles
is not surprising. In addition, the evidence suggests that
temples may have possessed facilities for the production of
textiles and that they were granted royal remissions for the

production of materials used in cultic activities, as indi-

(Leipzig, 1903). See also Thompson, Memphis, 79; F.

(BdE 125; Cairo, 2000), 74; R. H. Wilkinson, The
Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt (London, 2000), 75.
51 Papirigreci e latini (PSI III; Florence, 1914), 22.
52 Peremans and Van't Dack, Prosopographia

Ptolemaica V, 27 no. 12749.

53 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I,

42 n. 44.

54 P. W. Pestman, '"Inheriting" in the Archive of the

Theban Choachytes (2nd cent. B.C.)', in S. P. Vleeming
(ed.), Aspects of Demotic Lexicography (Leiden, 1984), 64-7.
55 7^4 43,54 line 3.

56 G. Vittmann, 'Agyptische Onomastik der Spatzeit',

in M. P. Streck and S. Weniger (eds), Altorientalische und
semitische Onomastik (Munster, 2002), 97; G. Vittmann,
'Zu den agyptischen Entsprechungen aramaisch iiber-

lieferter Persnnennflmpn' Oripntnlin 58 M Q8QV 221-2

57 W. Miiller and G. Vittmann, 'Zu den Personennamen

der aus Agypten stammenden Frauen in den sogenannten
"Hierodulenlisten" von Ma'in', Orientalia 62 (1993), 3^. I

thank C. Martin for the reference.

njEAAZ, 54 line 4.

59 R. el-Sayed, 'Un nom populaire a l'epoque ptole-

maique', GM 35 (1979), 51-8.

60 JEA 43, 54 line 4.

61 Agyptische Schreibertradition, Table 2.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 1 95

which the words hy.w and hyn.w are both preceded by a possessive pronoun. Other texts such as P.
BM EA 1002762 (311 bc) and P. Brussels 825463 (311 BC) write nt iw n;y=f hy.w hyn.w sh hryy which
the authors translate respectively as 'whose boundary measurements are written above* and 'whose
measures and neighbours are written above*.
(x) The expression can be constructed both with and without the infinitive ti.64 According to
Zauzich, documents from Lower Egypt, unlike those from Upper Egypt, regularly omit the infinitive.65

(y) I thank M. Smith for the reading of the word tmy. For a similar clause see P. Brooklyn
37.1796E.66

(z) I agree with Pestman67 in understanding the position of the father as simply that of a guarantor.

This, indeed, seems indicated by the fact that Hr-nd-if=f only states that he is responsible for the
observance of the deed's obligations, while no statement is found concerning his repudiation of any
title he may have on the property.68

(aa) The scribe appears to have inadvertently written the second person plural suffix pronoun tn
instead of the second person singular pronoun ,69 although given the small size of the sign, I am
unable to determine whether it could be the result of ink leaking. A comparison with the same word
in Text B, which employs the second person singular suffix pronoun t, would suggest a scribal error.
(bb) Text A is quite damaged at this point. Jelinkova read the long sign for hn as t and therefore
restored the clause as n t [pi hrw nt hry r pi ssw rn=f\, 'from this day till the term aforesaid'.70 Pestman,

who has also given a translation of this passage, preferred to leave the clause untranslated.71
(cc) The text in Text A reads iw-t instead of tw=t as in Text B. The expression can be formed
with either the present or the circumstantial present construction.72 It is interesting to note that the
same scribe has used a different construction in each of the contracts.

(dd) The name and patronymic of the scribe had previously been read incorrectly as Ply-he (?) si
Hr-hm73 and as Pa-Thwtj.74 Pl-hrf son of Hr-si-is.t the younger appears to have been one of the family

members of a long line of scribes from the Memphite area who are attested either as writers or as
witnesses of the documents from this region.75 The texts do not clearly mention the place of residence

or the sphere of influence of these scribes,76 although an analysis of the extant documents indicates
that more than one scribe may have held office at the same time within the Anubieion. This is shown,

for example, by the fact that P. Brooklyn 37.1796E was written by Pt-ti-wsir son of Nhf=w on 15
February 108 BC,77 only a day after Hr-sl-is.t pi hm drew up P. Brooklyn 37.1802E.78
(ee) Both the feminine ending t and the determinative appear to have been omitted by the scribe.79

The name is probably to be understood as an archival note, several examples of which, in more or less

62 C. A. R. Andrews, Catalogue of Demotic Papyri in

the British Museum, IV. Ptolemaic Legal Texts from the
Theban Area (London, 1990), 64-6 line 2.
63 M. Depauw, The Archive of Teos and Thabis from
Early Ptolemaic Thebes. P. Brux. Dem. Inv. E. 8252-8256
(Monographies Reine Elisabeth 8; Turnhout, 2000), 129

72 Erichsen, Demotische Lesestiicke II, 126-7.

73 Jelinkova, JEA 43, 54.

74 P. W. Pestman, 'Les documentes juridiques des

"chanceliers du dieu" de Memphis a l'epoque ptolema'ique',
OMRO 44 (1963), 22. The correct reading was given by
Zauzich, Agyptische Schreibertradition, 71-2, Urkunden

line 2.

95.

64 W. Erichsen, Demotische Lesestiicke, II. Urkunden

der Ptolemderzeit, 2. Glossar (Leipzig, 1940), 20-1.
65 Agyptische Schreibertradition, 146-7 Klausel 8, 155,

75 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I,

19 and 27 verso line 7, 31-3, 34 line 27, 43 n. 60, 46 line

Tables 1 and 2.

66 Pierce, Three Demotic Papyri, 15 line 27. I translate

the word simply as 'settlement' because of the elasticity

with which terms such as tmy and nw.t were used in

ancient Egypt.
67 Marriage and Matrimonial Property, 1 30-1 .
68 Although the omission of the latter statement may

be due simply to the wording of the contract, it seems

more likely that it was omitted because Hr-nd-if=f did not
have any rights to the property, as suggested by the fact
that whenever a person confirmed a deed, also renouncing
his or her ownership rights, this was clearly stated on the
document. See, for example, Depauw, The Archive of Teos

and Thabis, 126-32 (P. Bruss. 8254); E. N. Adler, J. G.

Tait and F. LI. Griffith, The Adler Papyri (Oxford and

London, 1939), 72-5 (P. Adler 2); and Andrews, Ptolemaic

Legal Texts, 70-2 (P. BM EA 10392).
69 Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property, 131.
70 JEA 43, 54 line 6, and JEA 45, 62 line 6.
71 Marriage and Matrimonial Property, 130.

25, and II, 32, 35 n. dd, 44 line 27, 49 n. ff, 54 line 25, 57,
n. 11. See Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes
I, 32, for the genealogical table and a list of the contracts
written by various members of this family. On this family

of scribes see also H. De Meulenaere, 'Prosopographia

Ptolemaica. Deuxieme serie', CdE 37 (1962), 69-73. For a
palaeographical analysis of the handwriting of Pi-hrf I,
(Ir-si-is.t II, Hr-s?-is.t pi hm and Pi-hrf III, see Zauzich,

Agyptische Schreibertradition, 201-4.

76 See Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes
I, 32, for the suggestion that they may have lived in the
Anubieion and that they may also have served as priests.

77 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I,

53 line 31, 57 n. 45.

78 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I,

32-4.

79 Jelinkova suggested that it was unusual to find a

name written in this part of a legal document and that 'it
might possibly indicate a more developed organisation of
the notary archives where the individual persons had their

own dossiers' {JEA 45, 74).

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

196 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

elaborate form, are known.80 However, archival notes were inscribed either on the verso of the
papyrus, so as to remain visible after the document had been rolled up, or on a separate sheet that was

wrapped around the contract. In fact, a close inspection of this area of the manuscript seems to
suggest that the fragment bearing the name Is.t-wry(.t) has been pasted onto the original sheet at a
later stage.81 This seems to be indicated by the darker coloration of the fragment in relation to the rest

of the roll and by the fact that its fibres do not line up with those of the main sheet. Therefore, it
seems possible that the name was originally inscribed either on the verso of the manuscript, on a
section no longer extant, or on a separate sheet of papyrus.82 In addition, the writing of this name
appears to be slightly different from other examples found within the body of the contracts, which,

by contrast, are remarkably similar, as shown by a superimposition of the two. This may possibly
suggest that it was written at a different time than the rest of the contract or by a different person,
perhaps the owner. Interestingly, this note is not found in Text B.
(ff) The partly damaged name on the lower right corner of the document may be the signature of

the father of party A, who confirmed the deed, possibly acting as guarantor. Only the beginning of
the name Hr-nd~if=f and the end of his father's name, Pi-ti-wsir-hp, survive, written as:
I j (mmmm, 1 Interestingly, the writing of the name P;-ti-wsir-hp as: / i^L I j#fc- \o > as ** aPPears
at the foot of the document, is different from that used within the body of the document by the scribe

Pa-hrf, written as: fpfffcrf* ,83 which may be indicative of personal variations in writing practices.

(gg) The Greek registrar's docket appended to Text A confirms the registration of this document
by Arios,84 a scribe of the grapheion in the Anubieion.85

(hh) I am unable to read this name. I can only suggest the names Pi-ti-imn-htp or Pi-ti-wsir-hp as
possible readings.
(ii) The name had been read as Hr-r; by Jelinkova.86 See also the next note.
(jj) Demotisches Namenbuch, 431. Jelinkova suggested P?-ti-[...] as a reading.87 The name Pa-tr.t is
one frequently encountered in Memphite documents.88 In P. Brooklyn 37.1839E A-B (201 BC) a
certain Hr-nd-if=f son of Pa-tr.t, the latter identified as 'the elder', is listed among the document's
witnesses,89 although it is not possible to determine whether any family relation existed between them

and the like-named individuals in Texts A and B given the temporal gap between the two documents.
(kk) Jelinkova suggested only ...he... as a reading.90
(11) Demotisches Namenbuch, 431. Jelinkova first suggested the reading Ply... and later Pa-[...].9i

(mm) For this name see Demotisches Namenbuch, 546 n. 28a, where the authors state that

Jelinkova's reading as P;-rr is incorrect.

(nn) I am not certain about the reading. Another possibility would be Pi-nfr, as suggested by
Jelinkova,92 or Pa-nfr.
80 Examples of archival notes can be found in Andrews,

Ptolemaic Legal Texts, P. BM EA 10463, 69-70, pl. 54; P.

BM EA 10612, 73^, pl. 66; P. BM EA 1O532A, 74-5, pl.

62; G. Botti, Uarchivio demotico da Deir el-Medineh
(Catalogo del Museo egizio di Torino. Serie prima - mon-

umenti e testi I; Florence, 1967), Papiro 18, 117, pl. xxiii;

P. 19, 119, pl. xxiv; P. 22, 129, pl. xxvi; P. 23, 131, pls.
xxvi-xxvii; P. 31, 164, pl. xxxviii; P. 35, 179, pl. xxxix; P.
36, 184, pl. xliv; P. 43, 200, pl. xlix; P. 45, 203, pl. viii; M.
el- Amir, A Family Archive from Thebes. Demotic Papyri in

the Philadelphia and Cairo Museums from the Ptolemaic

Period (Cairo, 1959), P. Philadelphia 8; Depauw, The

Archive of Teos and Thabis, Doc. 2, 114, pl. 15; Doc. 2 bis,

124-5, pl. 16. For archival notes see also W. Erichsen,

'Einige demotische Urkundenvermerke', in O. Firchow

(ed.), Agyptologische Studien (Berlin, 1955), 76-80.

81 It is possible that the fragment was pasted onto the
contract in modern times. However, it is interesting to
note that, for reasons unknown, the old archival note in P.
Bruss. 8253 was pasted onto the verso of the roll itself
rather than being discarded when it was replaced by the
new one, Doc. 2 bis; see Depauw, The Archive of Teos and
Thabis, 122 n. (dd).
82 If this was the case, then it is possible that the feminine ending t and the determinative were lost during the
process.

83 The scans of both variants of the name have been

Namenbuch, 302.
84 An analysis of the surviving dockets indicates that
Arios also registered P. Innsbruck (74 BC), P. Louvre 241 1
(64 BC), P. Louvre 2464 (64 BC) and P. Leiden 380 (64 BC).
See Wilcken, Urkunden der Ptolemderzeit, 620-1, dockets
nos. 136, 139, 140, 141, 142; and Jelinkova, JEA 43, 54,
and JEA 45, 74 nn. 57-8.
85 This was required by a law of 145 BC, which stipulated that all Demotic contracts had to be registered to be
valid. See further P. W. Pestman, The Archive of the

Theban Choachytes (Second Century B.C.): A Survey of

the Demotic and Greek Papyri Contained in the Archive
(Studia Demotica 2; Leuven, 1993), 337-41.
86 JEA 43, 54. For the correct reading, see Zauzich
Agyptische Schreibertradition, 71, 286 n. 566; Zauzich,
JEA 49, 178-9; and Botti, Acta Orientalia 25, 192-3.
87 JEA 43, 54, and JEA 45, 62.
88 See Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes
I, 14 n. 54.

89 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I,

19 and 27 witness 14.

90 JEA 43, 54. For the correct reading see Zauzich,

JEA 49, 178-9.
91 JEA 43, 54, and JEA 45, 62. For the correct read-

ing, see Zauzich, JEA 49, 178-9; and Botti, Acta

Orientalia 25, 192-3.

92 JEA 43, 55, and JEA 45, 62.

taken from the examples given in the Demotisches

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 197

(oo) The writing of the theophorous element hr seems quite clear but I am unable to read the rest.
Possible readings would be Hr-m-hy or Hr-ij-m-htp.
(pp) The reading is not certain. Jelinkova read the name as Harmakhis.93
(qq) The reading is not certain.94
(rr) The name had been read as Mn-wr by Jelinkova.95

(ss) The reading is not certain. Other possibilities would be wrse and wry, as suggested by

Jelinkova.96

(tt) The reading Mn suggested by Jelinkova does not seem to me to be supported by the extant
traces.97 A superimposition of this name with two other examples in the witnesses' list suggests it may
be a writing of the name Twt.

(uu) Only the words pi and perhaps tj are clearly visible. I can only suggest wsir-hp for the
remainder of the name.

(vv) The remaining traces of the name may be a writing of wsir, although I am unable to read
either what precedes or what follows. Jelinkova suggested Mn as a reading.98

Bodl. MS. Egypt, a. 41(P): Text B

Description of the papyrus
The papyrus (figs. 3-4) is light brown and consists of seven kollemata, the first being only 7
cm wide, while the remaining six sheets measure between 12.5 and 14 cm in width. The sheets

are joined left upon right with an overlap of 1 to 1.5 cm. The text is written on the recto,
parallel to the fibres. The overall dimensions of the manuscript, as preserved, are 98 cm in
length while the height varies between 19 cm on the right and 16.8 cm on the left-hand side.

The papyrus has suffered considerable damage especially in the lower part of the righthand section, where it appears to be darker than the rest of the roll. A close examination of

the area seems to indicate that this part of the papyrus may have been the subject of
restoration, possibly following its acquisition in the nineteenth century. This seems
indicated by the fact that fragments of the original papyrus are still visible in places where
small sections of the new overlapping sheets have lifted. Furthermore, large sections of the
text are entirely missing in line 6 and especially in line 7, while there are also signs of
smudging where part of the text appears to have been washed out. In addition, the traces of

writing still visible in this area do not appear to resemble Demotic characters. Several
vertical cracks are also present at regular intervals across the surface, possibly marking the
folds that resulted from the flattening of the original rolled papyrus. Large gaps occur in the
text along these cracks where fragments of the papyrus have broken away, although most of

the lacunae can be restored on the basis of Text A and of parallels to other sh-n-wy deeds
from the Ptolemaic Period.

An examination of the fibres of the surviving portion of papyrus at the beginning of the
document seems to indicate that a protokollon may have been attached to the right-hand side
of the roll with the vertical fibres parallel to the kollesis. However, since this area of the
papyrus shows signs of heavy restoration, it is quite possible that the fragment with vertical
fibres uppermost found at the beginning of the roll is an element of such repairs rather than
an original protokollon.

Following its acquisition, the papyrus was mounted onto a cloth backing before being
framed. Consequently, the list of witnesses who signed on the verso of the contract is no
longer visible.99 A series of small holes is also present on the upper and lower margins of the
93 JEA 45, 62.

94 Jelinkova read the name as rnh in JE A 43, 55, and as

Pa-[...] in JEA 45, 62.

95 JEA 43, 54. For the correct reading see Zauzich,
JEA 49, 178-9; and Botti, Ada Orientalia 25, 192-3.
^ JEA 43, 55.
97 JEA 43, 55, and ^ 45, 62.
JEA 43, 55.

99 An analysis of contracts for which both sh-dbi-hd and

sh-n-wy are preserved indicates that the witnesses would be

the same for both deeds. See, for example, Andrews,

Ptolemaic Legal Texts, P. BM EA 10727 and 10721 (182 BC),

38-40, P. BM EA 10722 and 10723 (181 BC), 41-3, and P.

BM EA 10724 and 10725 (179 BC), 92-6. It is, therefore,

likely that the names of the people who signed on the verso

of Text A were also those who witnessed Text B.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

198 MARIA CANNATA JfEA 92

8
J

i
s

CO

I
M

W
cr5

s
o

CO

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 199

O
>^

2
j
c

.g
u

>^

a
o

a>

-a
c

Sc

s
O

03
ffl

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

200 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

papyrus. They were probably made after the roll had been mounted onto the fabric since
some of them clearly pierce through both the papyrus and the backing material.100 Their
purpose is not immediately clear to me.
Transliteration

(1) hi.t-sp 18 /6^ 4 ih.t sw 2 [n (pr-]ri)\rw's' (ptwlmyis)\rw[s] [pi n]tr mr it mr sn irm m wr[b.w] n
ni (pr-ri.w)\rws- nt iw=w sh n-[im=w n] rr-qt

d sw.f rmt pr-hn-inpw nt hr ni shn.w n mn-nfr nhf-nb-j si hr-nd-if=f hnr mi-nn hr-m-hy
pi ri si hr-nd-if=f hnr hr-m-hy pi hm si hr-nd-if-j hnr shm.t ti-sr.t-hr-m-hy

(2) si.t hr-nd-if=f r s 3 ni sn.w hm.[w n] nhf-nb-j nt hry r s 4 n wr n [mw.t]=w nhf-w-s n

shm.[t] is.t-wry.t si.t pi-ti-nfr-[t]m d.f n=f irs mw.t=s ti[y]-r-r=w tw=n wy.f.k r-hr-t n
piy=t r.wy nt qt iw=f hbs iw=f mh n sbi sst nt ir mh-ntr 18 n pi rsy r pr mh[f] hr-h mh-ntr
6 n pi imnf r pr iibf hnr tiy-t

(3) [h] .t-nwf my=t mhr.[w] nt qt hr n=w nt i[r n=f mh]f nt n pr-hn-inpw hr rpi r[t] rs hff.h n
inpw tp-[tw]=f pi ntr ri nt hn nt n[b ii]r ph r-hr=n n tni.t n rn shm.t nhf=w-s si.t pi-ti-ijm-htp mw.t-s is.t-wry.t tiy=n mw.t ti sn.t tiy=t mw.t in-t pi r.wy ti ht-nw\} n]i mhr.w nt
hry

(4) iir=n dbi hd r ir=n n=t ir[m hr-nd-if=]f si pi-ti-wsir-hp piy=n i[t.f s]h dbi hd r-r-w n pi
ssw [hrw nt] hry

my=w hyn.w
rs [pi r].wy n shm.t rta-by" r wn-ni.w hr d-hr si hr-pi-rr nt hr ni hrf.w my=f hrf.w
mhf hff.h rn inpw tp-tw=f pi ntr ri

imnf pi r.wy n rnh-hp r wn-ni.w hr shm.t ta-mr-w[r] [i]iy=f sr.t nt hr m hrf.w

(5) [my=s h]rt.w

iibf pi [r.]wy n pa-ih[.t nt] hr kt-h.t rmt r pi h(y)r iwt=[w]
[r tmt]

rmtw- (pi) r.wy tiy-t [ht-nw]f [my]=t mhr.w [nt hry nt iw my=]w hy.w my=w hy[n.w sh
h]ry r-h pi nt sh hry t pi hrw r-hry mn mtw=n mt nb n pi ti iir-n-t [n] rn~w pi nt iw=f (r)

ij r-[hr]=t dbi.f-w iw=n r ti w[y=]f r-hr-t n ht[r] iw[} m]n

iw sw.[} rmt]

(6) [n pi] tm[y n]t hry hr-nd-if[=f si p]i-t[i-wsi]r-hp mw.t[=f] ta-ij-m-htp pi i[t.f pi s 4 nt hry
d\

iir[y mt nb nt hry hi.f=y mtr.w n-i]m=w tw=t [m-si]=y n ir n=t r-h [mt nb nt hry] pi nt iw

bn iw pi s [4] niy=y hrf.w nt hry ir=f n=t iw=y ir=f n-t hn hrw 5 n pi ibt rn=f n htr iwf
mn

iw=w d n pi s 5 tw=t m-si piy=t mr n-im=n r pi s 5 [r] ir n[=t pi] hp (n) pi sh

(7) [nt hry] [iir=t m]r hpr m-si=n [npisS iir-t r hp]r tw[=t] m-si=n [n] s[h-dbi-hd r-ir=n n=t
r-r-w n hi.t-sp 18 ibt 4 ih.t sw 2 n (pr]-^i)\rws- [{ptwlmy]is)\fws- nt ['nh d.t r mh] sh 2 iw=t

m-si-n n-[im]=w hn[r piy=w] hp

r sh pa-hrf si hr-[si-is].t pi hm
Translation

(1) Regnal year 18, fourth month of the inundation season, day 2 [of (Phara]oh)|1Ph
(Ptolemaios)| l p Ch the go]da who loves (his) father (and) who loves (his) sister, and the
priest[s]b of the (Pharaohs)| LP-h- who are registered at Alexandria.

100 It seems possible that this backing sheet is of synthetic fabric because the area around at least one of the

which we would probably expect to find in cloth made

from natural fibres.

small holes shows signs of melting rather than burning

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 201

Has declared the merchant from the Anubieion which is in the districts of Memphis,
Nht-nb=f son of Hr-nd-it-f, together with Hr-m-hy the elder, of the same profession,
son of Hr-nd-if=f, together with Hr-m-fry the younger, son of Hr-nd-it-fy together with
the woman T?-sr.t-hr-m-hy

(2) daughter of Hr-nd-if=f> being 3 persons, the younger brethr[en of] Nhf-nb=f aforesaid,
being 4 persons with one voice, their [mother] being Nhf=w-sy to (the) woma[n] Is.twry.t daughter of P?-ti-nfr-[t]m, called trs, her mother being T;y-r-r=w:
'We are far from you (in respect) of yourc house, which is built, it being roofed, it being

complete with door and window (and) which measures 18 god's-cubits from the south
to the nort[h] by 6 god's-cubits from the west to the east, together with your

(3) cloth-[pla]ce (and) your storehouse[s]d that are built at their entrance, which a[re to its
nort]h,e and which are in the Anubieion on the southern s[ide]f of the dromos of
Anubis-who-is-upon-his-mountain, the great god, (and) which includes everything
th]at came to us as share in (the) name (of the) woman Nhf-w-s daughter of Pi-ti-ij-mhtpy her mother being Is.t-wry.ty our mother, the sister of your mother.

You have bought^ the house, the cloth-pla[ce (and) t]he aforesaid storehouses
(4) from us,h concerning which we have made for you a [s]h-dbi-hd wi[th Hr-nd-it]^/* son
of P?-ti-wsir-hpy our f[ather],J at the afore[said da]te.k

Their neighbours:
south, [the h]ouse of the woman Ta-by which was held by D-hr son of Hr-pi-rr (and)
which is (now) held by the children of his offspring;
north, (the) dromos of Anubis-who-is-upon-his-mountain, the great god;
west, the house of rnh-hp which was held by (the) woman Ta-mr-w[r], [h]is daughter,
(and) which is (now) held by the children of
(5) [her offspring;
east, the house of Pa-ih[.t which] is held by other people while the alley (of the house)
is between [them].
[Totalling] (the neighbours).
To you belong1 (the)m house, your cloth- [pla]cen (and) yo[ur] storehouses, [whos]e
measurements and boundaries are written ab]ove, in accordance with that which is
written above from today onwards. We do not have any claim at all against you [on]p
account of them. (As for) any one who shall proceed agfainst] you on account of them,
we will cause him to be fa[r] from you by compulsion] (and) witho[ut del]ay.'q
While the mercha[nt, a man]
(6) [from the] said settlement], Hr-nd-if[=f son of P]i-t[i-wsi]r-hpy [his] mother being Taij-m-htp, the fa[ther of the 4 persons aforesaid, declares]:
'Execu[te all (the) aforesaid matters, my heart is satisfied with]r them. You have [a legal
claim] on me to act for you in accordance with [everything aforesaid]. That which the
[4] persons aforesaid, my children, will not do for you, I will do it for you within 5 days
ofs the said month, by compulsion, without delay/

While the 5 persons say:1

'You have a legal claim against any one of us you want, totalling the 5 persons, [to] fulfil
fo[r you the] obligation of the deed
(7) [aforesaid]. [Should you wi]sh to make a legal claim against us, [as the 5 persons, you
will b]e (able to have a claim). u [You] have a claim [on] us (also) [with respect to]v (the
right of the) s[h-dbt-hdw which we made for you concerning them in regnal year 18,
fourth month of the inundation season, day 2 of (Pharao]h)| l P-h [(Ptolema]ios)|LPh x

who [lives forever,? completing (the)] two documents.2 You have a claim on us with
respect to t[he]m an[d their] obligation. >aa
Wrote Pa-hrf son of Hr-[s?-is].t the younger.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

202 MARIA CANNATA JEA 92

Notes on translation

(a) Where restorations are found without comment they are based on Text A, which, unlike Text
B, has not suffered much damage in the first half of the papyrus.

(b) There is a gap in the papyrus at this point and only part of the plural sign survives.
(c) In sh-dbi-hd deeds, as in Text A, the text uses the first plural pronoun 'our' in the specification

of the house, with the vendors stating, 'We have given you our house, it is yours', whereas in the shn-wy the sellers declare, 'We are far from your house', which, as Depauw suggests, may indicate that
the ownership of the property had already passed to the buyer with the first document.101

(d) The plural ending is clearly visible in Text A, as well as being suggested by the use of the
plural possessive pronoun my-t.
(e) The clause is only partially preserved due to the gaps in the papyrus.
(f) Between the preposition hr and the noun rt there appears to be another sign, quite possibly the

writing for the definite article pl. The latter does not seem to have been used in the parallel passage
in Text A which reads simply hr rt.

(g) The reading of the verb in-t was suggested by M. Smith.102 The following clause is often used
in sh-n-wy documents to refer back to the first part of the contract, the sh-dbi-hd, and therefore it is

not found in Text A. Enough of the clause survives to be certain about the reading.
(h) The reading of the word iir was suggested by M. Smith.
(i) Only part of the determinative survives, but the reading is supported by the following name,
which is that of the father of Hr-nd-ip=f, and by the occurrence of both names again in line 6.

(j) Hardly any trace of the word survives, but the reading is quite certain.
(k) The text is quite damaged at this point. My restoration of the words hrw nt hry is only in part
supported by the extant traces of ink. In fact, of the signs following the noun ssw only the ending of
the word hry seems clear, while it is difficult to determine whether the remaining traces are part of

the original words hrw and nt or the result of a possible restoration of the papyrus. The use of the
compound word ssw-hrw,102 with the generic meaning of 'date' or 'time', as in Text B, is also found
in P. Heidelberg 723 (line 19),104 P. Innsbruck (line 16),105 P. Cairo 30620 and P. Pavia 1120.106
However, from the analysis of the tables produced by Zauzich107 this use of the compound does not
appear to have been very common in either sh-dbi-hd or sh-n-wy deeds.

(1) The papyrus is very damaged at this point and the reading mtw=t seems only partly supported
by the extant traces. Another possible reading would be ply-t in a nominal clause with the copula
pronoun either omitted or lost in the many gaps present in this part of the papyrus.

(m) The article pi is omitted in this text but it appears in Text A.

(n) The restoration is based on the parallel specification in line 3.
(o) The restoration of the possessive as plural is dictated by the plural ending of the noun mhr.w.
(p) Traces of the word are just visible.
(q) The restoration is based on the occurrence of this same formula in line 6 of the text and on the

many parallels of this clause found in Ptolemaic contracts of sale.

(r) The papyrus is very fragmentary at this point and large gaps are present in the text. The
reading seems supported by the fact that the traces in Text B match with the passage in Text A, as
shown by a superimposition of the two documents.
(s) The stroke is rather long and looks more like r than n. However, I have taken it as an n because
this is what we would expect to find.
(t) The reading of the word d was suggested by M. Smith: literally, 'they say, namely the five
persons'. For another example of this clause see P. Brooklyn 37.1796E.108
(u) The same clause is also found in P. Leiden 376. 109
(v) There is but a trace of what could have been n.
(w) The only surviving trace of the word is the oblique stroke of the first sign in the writing of

the verb sh.

(x) The restoration of the words (Pharaoh)!1?11 (Ptolemaios)| LP-h- is clearly suggested by what
survives of them. In addition, the extant traces of ink in the displaced fragment above this word seem

to correspond to parts of the w, the t and the / in the writing of the name Ptwlmyis. Thus, the
101 See further Depauw, The Archive of Teos and

Thabis, 7, n. 12.

102 For the idioms in r-dbi-hd and ti r-dbi-hd used with

the meaning of buying and selling see J. H. Johnson, Thus

Wrote 'Onchsheshonqy: An Introductory Grammar of

Demotic (SAOC 45: Chicago. 1991). 41.

103 Erichsen, Demotisches Glossar, 461.

104 Sethe and Partsch, Burgschaftsrechte, pl. 19.

105 Sethe and Partsch, Burgschaftsrechte, 740 n. 1.
106 Zauzich. Asvttische Schreibertradition. table 4.
107 Agyptische Schreibertradition, tables 1-4.
108 Pierce, Three Demotic Papyri, 13-18 line 30.

109 Sethe and Partsch, Burgschaftsrechte, 208-9 line 30.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

2006 PTOLEMAIC CONTRACT OF SALE 203

fragment should probably be lowered by one line. This is also suggested by the fact that the words in
the upper part of the fragment read [...]m=w tw-t which is what we would expect to find at this point
in line 6 of the text.

(y) The reading we would generally expect to find would be rnh d.t or nt rnh d.tyuo but I am not
entirely certain whether this is what was originally written in the gap.

(z) Another possible restoration would be: tw-t m-si-n n (pi hp n) sh-dbt-hd r ir n=t hr-nd-i}-f si
pl-ti-wsir-hp piy-n if r-r-w n hl.t-sp IS ibt 4 ih.t swln (pr-r$)\ r-w-s- (ptwlmyis)\ r-w-s- nt rnh d.t r mh sh 2. A

similar clause is found in P. Philadelphia VIII and X111 and P. Louvre E 3266. 112 However, for reasons
of space I do not believe it is possible to restore this entire sentence in the gap.
(aa) A similar clause is found in P. Brooklyn 37.1839E A (line 8), P. Brooklyn 37.1839E B (line 6)113
and in P. BM EA 10616 (line 5) from Philadelphia.114

110 Depauw, The Archive of Teos and Thabis, 134-5.

111 El-Amir, A Family Archive from Thebes, 37-41,

45-9.

112 De Cenival, BIFAO 71, line 12 R-S.

113 Pestman, Quaegebeur and Vos, Recueil de textes I,

19 and 26, and II, 24 and 32.

114 S. R. K. Glanville, 'A Demotic Contract of the

Third Century from the Fayyum (Dem. P. Brit. Mus.

10616)', in Studies Presented to F. LI. Griffith (London,
1932), 154.

This content downloaded from 155.94.207.116 on Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:53:51 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms