Introduction
This exercise comprises tables of fractions. Each column presents a whole number in the first line, and subsequent lines in the column record fractional amounts of this number. There are scribal errors in the tables. It's especially worth drawing attention to board IIb, lines 9-15. Here, the scribe mistakenly omitted the amount for one-ninth, recording that for one-tenth in its place. This resulted in all subsequent amounts appearing in the wrong lines, with the line for one-twentieth being left empty.
The text was entered during a webinar conducted by R. Ast and H. Essler in summer semester 2021.
DCLP transcription: 91948 [xml]
vestig board Ib
column i
Ϛοε
𐅵´ Γλζ 𐅵´
γ´ Βκε
𐅷 Δν
5d´ Αφιη 𐅵´ d´
ε´ Ασιε
ϛ´ Αιβ 𐅵´
η´ ψνθ γ κδ
θ χοε
10ι χζ 𐅵´
ιβ φϛ d´
ιε υε
ιϛ τοθ 𐅷 μη
ιη τλζ 𐅵´
15κ τγ 𐅵´ d´
—— column ii
μ(υριάδες) α Aφ
𐅵´ Εψν
γ´ Γωλγ γ´
𐅷 Ζχξϛ 𐅷
5d´ Βωοε
ε Βτ
ϛ Αϡιϛ 𐅷
η´ Αυλζ 𐅵´
θ Ασοζ 𐅵´ d´ λϛ
10ι Αρν
ιβ ϡνη ϛ
ιε ψξϛ 𐅷
ιϛ ψιη 𐅵´ d´
ιη χλη 𐅵´ γ ιη
15κ φοε
—— board ΙΙa
column i
χκη
𐅵´ τιδ
γ´ σθ γ´
𐅷 υιη 𐅷
5d´ ρνζ
ε´ ρκε 𐅵´ ι´
ϛ´ ρδ 𐅷
η´ οη 𐅵´
θ ξθ 𐅷 θ´
10ι ξβ 𐅷 ι λ
ιβ νβ γ
ιε μα 𐅵´ γ λ´
ιϛ λθ d´
ιη λδ 𐅵´ γ ιη
15κ λα γ ιε
—— column ii
Γυ
𐅵´ Αψ
γ´ Αρλγ γ´
𐅷 Βσξϛ 𐅷
5d´ ων
ε´ χπ
ϛ´ φξϛ 𐅷
η´ υκε
θ τοζ 𐅷 θ
10ι τμ
ιβ σπγ γ´
ιε σιβ 𐅵´
ιϛ σιβ 𐅵´
ιη ρπη 𐅵´ γ ιη
15κ ρο
—— board ΙΙb
Εκε
τὸ 𐅵´ Βφιβ 𐅵´
τὸ γ´ Αχοε
τὸ 𐅷 Γτν
5τὸ d´ Ασνϛ(*) d´
τὸ ε´ Αε
τὸ ϛ´ ωλζ 𐅵´
τὸ η̣´(*) χκη η̣´(*)
τὸ θ´ φβ 𐅵´
10τὸ ι´ υιη 𐅵̣´ d´
τὸ ιβ τλε
τὸ ιε τιδ ιϛ
τὸ ιϛ σοθ ϛ
τὸ ιη σν
15τὸ κ vac. ?
——
Editorial History; All History; (detailed)
© Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Notes
- 1.
Board I.a: This is the outer front side of the codex. K.A. Worp (ed.pr., p. 251) describes it thus: "from underneath the gesso layer remains of an earlier, now illegible text are visible. It would seem that a ‘k’-shaped letter has been incised into the wood with a pointed instrument. A less prominent ‘L’-shaped character appears after the ‘k’. The significance of these characters is uncertain."
- 5.
There is an overstroke above the ιη (=18) suggesting that the scribe inadvertently treated it as a fraction.
- 24.
Two-thirds is the expected fraction here, but the symbol employed looks more like that for one-eighth. It is impossible to know if the scribe confused the two or executed the two-third's symbol poorly.
- 27.
The sum recorded in this line (σιβ 𐅵) is the quotient of 1/16, not 1/15. The correct entry should be σκϛ 𐅷.
- .
As noted in the intro above, the quotients in lines 9-15 are wrongly aligned. That given here corresponds to the fraction in the next line (one-twelfth). Moreover, we expect one-half after υιη, but the scribe wrote the fraction one-twentieth, clearly a copying error.
- .
The scribe meant to enter the sum for one-twentieth here, which is σνα d ' (two hundred fifty-one and one-fourth), not σν (two hundred fifty). It might have been at this point that he realized the mistake he made in line 9, and he just abandoned the operation.