::Reading the Text::

The next pages in this exercise will give you the opportunity to read part of a papyrus from the Zenon archive. This document is a letter sent to the policeman in the town of Philadelphia that records the loss of a white donkey. The papyrus is dated to January 5, 524 BC. Unlike P46 and other literary texts, which are written in a book hand, this papyrus is written in a cursive hand. Although it was probably written by a professional scribe, the hand is quicker, and not as legible. Sometimes, the same letter may be written in two very different ways. This text is a little more difficult to read than P46, but you should be able to identify most of the letters with ease.

Before you begin reading the text, you may want to visit the two links below:

Once you've reveiwed the two pages above, you should be ready to begin reading. As you look at each line, try to decipher the text, refering to the alphabet as needed, before checking the transcription.