DOI article:
Grenfell, Bernard P.; Hunt, Arthur S.: Egypt Exploration Fund: graeco-roman branch
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12052#0020
Graeco-Roman Branch.
7
ten feet. The papyri from it ranged from the first to the fourth century,
the majority belonging to the second.
Of inscribed objects other than papyri, the most interesting was a large
third-century leaden tablet, containing in the centre magical formulae and
round the edge an imprecation (now in the Cairo Museum). A fragment
of a glass bowl was inscribed with the letters ]H2TIZN[ in relief, and we
found a wooden tablet with the letters AAAB, a wooden stamp with @E$,
and a limestone stamp with I'ZIA, i.e. 'IaiScopcx;, all of the Eoman period.
Ostraca were rare, but bits of inscribed amphorae (2nd-6th century) were
numerous. The inscriptions on these, often very cursively written and
much abbreviated, were most commonly names, e.g., among Roman
specimens ^Avraiohdipov, Qeoiv, <&i\6l;(aio<;), '-H^a/cXet'S?;?, Avp/jiXoi (sic),
Ato(yevr;<;?), ©eoScopos, 'flplcov : among Byzantine, 2ep(i']vov ?), Ilea (Oat? ?),
$t/3, Mdgifi(os) followed in the next line by e, JTeVpo? ©e^wvost),
n.ToX(epaio<;), 'laXtW,'louXiou, Evaeftiov. The Byzantine amphorae often
had two names preceded respectively by x&>po(?) or fiepos, e.g. ^copo^)
£ev)ip'iov /xepo(<;) 'Afipaap.lov ; %wp(o?) K\eo7rdrp(a<;) pep(o<;) Uerea. i] . . .
ov. Prices were not infrequently marked on the amphorae in Roman times,
e.g. (Spa^al) S {-erpuifioXov), (Spa^al) S (o/3oX6?) (these being very likely
the price of a chous of wine), (Spa^pai) e, (Spa-^/xal) e (0/80X09), (Spax^ai) i)
(,TpLwj3d\ov). Occasionally dates were found, e.g., e (eVot/?) nai 8 (eVou?)
(i.e. a.d. [ 288-9). The Byzantine jars were often marked with the
Christian symbol yjxy found on inscriptions and in papyri, and explained
either as an abbreviation of X(piaTov) M(apta) y(evva) or as the sum of
the numerical values of the letters in the words ij dyia rpias d(eo<;) cf. our
Greek Papyri ii. p. 151. An instance in which %fiy (the 7 becoming a
chrism) was followed by <j9 (i.e. 99, the sum of the letters in dp.ijv)
perhaps supports the second explanation. That text continued deov %apt?,
/ce'pSof, </>££(? another symbol), airovo . . ., degenerating later into nourishes.
Many of the inscriptions were too much abbreviated to be intelligible, e.g.,
a Latin one USIB TM SEV; and probably the writing was not seldom
mere scribbling, as in the case of several occurrences of the alphabet.
On the rim of a large bowl of red pottery was stamped ALEXAN | DRI
LADA, on another VEHILI (a proper name), on a third . . UMEA . . |
MODERAT III, on a fourth ETKA ] VIIIA.
The miscellaneous antiquities included about 100 Ptolemaic, Roman and
early Byzantine billon or copper coins, the bulk of them being from
a.d. 250-350, about forty leaden tokens of the Roman period, similar to
those found in 1897 (cf. Arch. Rep. 1896-7, p. 10), a set of moulds for
forging coins of Maximums Daza, Licinius and Constantine, a bird-trap
7
ten feet. The papyri from it ranged from the first to the fourth century,
the majority belonging to the second.
Of inscribed objects other than papyri, the most interesting was a large
third-century leaden tablet, containing in the centre magical formulae and
round the edge an imprecation (now in the Cairo Museum). A fragment
of a glass bowl was inscribed with the letters ]H2TIZN[ in relief, and we
found a wooden tablet with the letters AAAB, a wooden stamp with @E$,
and a limestone stamp with I'ZIA, i.e. 'IaiScopcx;, all of the Eoman period.
Ostraca were rare, but bits of inscribed amphorae (2nd-6th century) were
numerous. The inscriptions on these, often very cursively written and
much abbreviated, were most commonly names, e.g., among Roman
specimens ^Avraiohdipov, Qeoiv, <&i\6l;(aio<;), '-H^a/cXet'S?;?, Avp/jiXoi (sic),
Ato(yevr;<;?), ©eoScopos, 'flplcov : among Byzantine, 2ep(i']vov ?), Ilea (Oat? ?),
$t/3, Mdgifi(os) followed in the next line by e, JTeVpo? ©e^wvost),
n.ToX(epaio<;), 'laXtW,'louXiou, Evaeftiov. The Byzantine amphorae often
had two names preceded respectively by x&>po(?) or fiepos, e.g. ^copo^)
£ev)ip'iov /xepo(<;) 'Afipaap.lov ; %wp(o?) K\eo7rdrp(a<;) pep(o<;) Uerea. i] . . .
ov. Prices were not infrequently marked on the amphorae in Roman times,
e.g. (Spa^al) S {-erpuifioXov), (Spa^al) S (o/3oX6?) (these being very likely
the price of a chous of wine), (Spa^pai) e, (Spa-^/xal) e (0/80X09), (Spax^ai) i)
(,TpLwj3d\ov). Occasionally dates were found, e.g., e (eVot/?) nai 8 (eVou?)
(i.e. a.d. [ 288-9). The Byzantine jars were often marked with the
Christian symbol yjxy found on inscriptions and in papyri, and explained
either as an abbreviation of X(piaTov) M(apta) y(evva) or as the sum of
the numerical values of the letters in the words ij dyia rpias d(eo<;) cf. our
Greek Papyri ii. p. 151. An instance in which %fiy (the 7 becoming a
chrism) was followed by <j9 (i.e. 99, the sum of the letters in dp.ijv)
perhaps supports the second explanation. That text continued deov %apt?,
/ce'pSof, </>££(? another symbol), airovo . . ., degenerating later into nourishes.
Many of the inscriptions were too much abbreviated to be intelligible, e.g.,
a Latin one USIB TM SEV; and probably the writing was not seldom
mere scribbling, as in the case of several occurrences of the alphabet.
On the rim of a large bowl of red pottery was stamped ALEXAN | DRI
LADA, on another VEHILI (a proper name), on a third . . UMEA . . |
MODERAT III, on a fourth ETKA ] VIIIA.
The miscellaneous antiquities included about 100 Ptolemaic, Roman and
early Byzantine billon or copper coins, the bulk of them being from
a.d. 250-350, about forty leaden tokens of the Roman period, similar to
those found in 1897 (cf. Arch. Rep. 1896-7, p. 10), a set of moulds for
forging coins of Maximums Daza, Licinius and Constantine, a bird-trap