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Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists
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Volume Volume 10 (2025)
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Ibrahim, N. (2025). UNPUBLISHED COPTIC AUTHORIZING PAYMENT LETTER IN THE COPTIC MUSEUM. Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists, 10(1), 103-114. doi: 10.21608/jguaa2.2024.254296.1159
Nesma Ibrahim. "UNPUBLISHED COPTIC AUTHORIZING PAYMENT LETTER IN THE COPTIC MUSEUM". Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists, 10, 1, 2025, 103-114. doi: 10.21608/jguaa2.2024.254296.1159
Ibrahim, N. (2025). 'UNPUBLISHED COPTIC AUTHORIZING PAYMENT LETTER IN THE COPTIC MUSEUM', Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists, 10(1), pp. 103-114. doi: 10.21608/jguaa2.2024.254296.1159
Ibrahim, N. UNPUBLISHED COPTIC AUTHORIZING PAYMENT LETTER IN THE COPTIC MUSEUM. Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists, 2025; 10(1): 103-114. doi: 10.21608/jguaa2.2024.254296.1159

UNPUBLISHED COPTIC AUTHORIZING PAYMENT LETTER IN THE COPTIC MUSEUM

Article 5, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2025, Page 103-114  XML PDF (2.2 MB)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.21608/jguaa2.2024.254296.1159
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Author
Nesma Ibrahim email
Lecturer at Department of Archaeology, Faculty of arts/ New Valley University, Egypt.
Abstract
خطاب تفويض بالدفع في المتحف القبطى           [Ar]                                                                                                                                                   
تهدف هذة الورقة البحثية إلى نشر ودراسة أوستراكون قبطى غير منشور حُفظ أولًا في المتحف المصري برقم JE 54959  وحاليًا محفوظ في المتحف القبطي في مصر القديمة برقم   O Coptic Museum 4555 الأوستراكون ضمن مجموعة الأوستراكا المكتشفة بواسطة عالم المصريات الأمريكي هيربيرت وينلوك في مكب نافيل لصالح بعثة حفائر متحف المتروبوليتان بالدير البحري بديسبوليس ماجنا - طيبة الغربية عام 1929. ترجع أهمية هذا الأوستراكون أنه من بقايا مكب إدوارد نافيل الذى اغفل عنه الكثيرين ولم يحظ بأى اهتمام علمي فيما قبل. الأوستراكون عبارة عن قطعة من الحجر الجيرى كتبت على وجه واحد باللهجة الصعيدية في 11سطرًا بالحبر الأسود. الأستراكون في حالة جيدة, بها الكثير من الفجوات على الجانب الأيسر  والجزء العلوي من النص مقطوع, الحبر باهت في كثير من الأماكن. نص الأوستراكون عبارة عن خطاب من مالك أرض يفوض شخص آخر لزراعتها على أن يتقاسما إنتاجها بينهما مناصفًة. نص الأستراكون يُعد بمثابة نموذج للخطابات القانونية في الفترة المعروفة بفترة القانون القبطي. تباعًا لذلك وطبقًا للمقارنات اللغوية تبين أن خطابات التفويض اخذت عدة انماط من حيث الصيغ الإفتتاحية والختامية والمتن. تنوعت الصيغ ما بين القبطية واليونانية من قبل الكاتب الذي كان مدربًا على الكتابة بكلا اللغتين لكي يتمكن من صياغة العقد المُقدم الي محكمة أرمنت مركز الإجراءات القضائية آنذاك. تباعًا لذلك ووفقًا للدراسة الخطية, الصيغ النصية, المحتوي والنصوص المقارنة فإن هذا الأوستراكون يؤرخ في الفترة ما بين القرنين السابع والثامن الميلادي.  
 
[En] This paper aims to publish an unpublished Coptic ostracon that is currently kept in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Nro. O. Coptic Museum 4555. The ostracon was originally conserved in the Egyptian Museum, Nro. JE54959. This ostracon is part of a group of ostraca that was found in Naville's dump by American Egyptologist Herbert Winlock during the 1929 excavation mission of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Dair al-Bahari in Despolis Magna - Western Thebes. Because it is one of the remnants of Naville's dump, which was previously ignored by many and did not receive any scientific attention, this ostracon is significant. The ostracon is a limestone slab with 11 lines of black ink written on one side in Sahidic dialect. Although the ostracon is in good condition, there are many gaps on the left side. Also, the upper portion of the text is missing, and the ink has faded in many places. The ostracon is a letter written by a landowner granting authorization for someone else to sow, on the condition that they divide the harvest equally between them. During the so-called Coptic Law period, legal discourses were modeled after the ostracon text. Linguistic comparisons reveal that the writer, who was trained to write in both languages so that he could draft the contract submitted to the Armant Court– then the center of judicial procedures at the time– used a variety of styles for the opening, closing and body formulas of the authorization letters. Based on the paleography, formula, and content, the ostraca can be dated to the 7th–8th centuries AD.    
Keywords
Authorizing; Dair al-Bahari; Neville's dump; O. Coptic Museum 4555; payment Letter; Winlock
Main Subjects
Coptological Studies (Art and Architecture)
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