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Archaeologists working in Berenike, Egypt, have discovered the remains of several letters written by Roman centurions.
In the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD, the ancient port of Berenike, located on the west coast of the Red Sea, was an important waystation for trade across the Roman Empire. The town has been the subject of several archaeological projects, but the latest discoveries were made in an animal cemetery on the western outskirts of the ancient city (CWA 107). Excavations in this area have previously produced a number of ostraca (ceramic sherds with inscriptions), but these are the first examples of papyri.
The documents were discovered with other items, including wine and garum amphorae from Italy, Roman coins, a military fibula, and distinctive olive lamps, all of which came from the centurion’s office or residence, which must have been located near the cemetery. The significance of these pieces of papyrus was not immediately obvious – most are small rolls, just a few centimetres long – but closer examination revealed that they represent parts of four different letters, one of which is relatively large and well preserved: researchers were able to piece back together a section c.50cm long and 30cm wide.
The texts are currently still being analysed by Professor Rodney Ast from the University of Heidelberg, but initial inspection has revealed that they are communications between Roman centurions, and has even identified three names: Haosus, Lucinius, and Petronius. The best-preserved letter is from Petronius: in it he is asking his friend Lucinius, who is stationed in Berenike, about the prices of various luxury goods. In another letter, it is reported that someone is giving money to the recipient and that they are sending it by dromedarii (a unit of soldiers who rode on camels). The writer asks that the recipient take care of these men and provide them with ‘veal and poles for their tents’. Once full examination of the papyri is completed, we will doubtless know more about their contents.
These letters are significant not just for the insights they offer into the lives of Roman soldiers stationed in Egypt in this period, but for the new information they could provide about who exactly was responsible for the administration of this important hub 2,000 years ago.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Image: Sz Poplawski
