Bagnall, R.S., Ruffini, G. edd, O. Triminthis I (e-pub)

AMHEIDA I:

OSTRAKA FROM TRIMITHIS

VOLUME 1

Texts from the 2004–2007 Seasons

by

Roger S. Bagnall and Giovanni R. Ruffini

with contributions by

Raffaella Cribiore and Günter Vittmann

Publisher's blurb:

This volume presents 455 inscribed pottery fragments, or ostraka, found during NYU’s excavations at Amheida in the western desert of Egypt. The majority date to the Late Roman period (3rd to 4th century AD), a time of rapid social change in Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean generally. Amheida was a small administrative center, and the full publication of these brief texts illuminates the role of writing in the daily lives of its inhabitants. The subjects covered by the Amheida ostraka include the distribution of food, the administration of wells, the commercial lives of inhabitants, their education, and other aspects of life neglected in literary sources. The authors provide a full introduction to the technical aspects of terminology and chronology, while also situating this important evidence in its historical, social and regional context.

info at NYU "Excavations at Amheida" page
Printed edition from  NYU Press

• Preface
• Note on Editorial Procedure
• Introduction and Figures
  • Types of texts
  • Dating
  • Stratigraphy and coins in House B1
  • The wells and Trimithite geography
  • Managing wells and estates
  • Commodities and measures
  • Trimithis as a political community
  • House B2 (Area 1.3)
  • Ostraka from the Temple Hill
  • Personal names
  • Archaeological contexts of the ostraka
• Texts, translations, and commentaries
  • I. Accounts and lists (1–62)
  • II. Ration accounts (63–70)
  • III. Lists (71–95)
  • IV. Well tags: Pmoun formula (96–145)
  • V. Well tags: Hydreuma Pmoun formula (146–172)
  • VI. Tags: Miscellaneous and uncertain (173–247)
  • VII. Memoranda (248–277)
  • VIII. Receipts (278–294)
  • IX. Letters, orders, and notes (295–330)
  • X. Writing exercises (331–337)
  • XI. Jar inscriptions (338–343)
  • XII. Miscellaneous (344–353)
  • XIII. Uncertain texts (354–454)
• Indices
• Notes