Amheida I: Ostraka from Trimithis, Volume 1 (ISAW Monographs #7)

By: Roger S. Bagnall and Giovanni R. Ruffini

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Synopsis: This volume presents 455 inscribed pottery fragments, or ostraka,found during NYU’s excavations at Amheida in the western desert of Egypt. Themajority date to the Late Roman period (3rd to 4th century AD), a time of rapidsocial change in Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean generally. Amheida was asmall administrative center, and the full publication of these brief textsilluminates the role of writing in the daily lives of its inhabitants. Thesubjects covered by the Amheida ostraka include the distribution of food, theadministration of wells, the commercial lives of inhabitants, their education,and other aspects of life neglected in literary sources. The authors provide afull introduction to the technical aspects of terminology and chronology, whilealso situating this important evidence in its historical, social and regionalcontext. Online edition available as part of the NYU Library's Ancient World Digital Library and in partnership with the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW).