Accounts of the damiergoi

Bibliography

Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography , pp. 142-143, n. 41 (ph.), whence SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden, then Amsterdam, 1923-1971, then 1979- - see in bibliography , 9.42; Laronde, 1987 Laronde, A., 1987, Cyrène et la Libye hellénistique. Libykai historiai de l’époque républicaine au principat d’Auguste, Paris - see in bibliography , pp. 331-333; Rosamilia, 2016 Rosamilia, E., 2016, Numismatica e documentazione epigrafica: i piedi monetali e l'introduzione del "bronze standard" a Cirene, in M. Asolati, Le monete di Cirene e della Cirenaica nel Mediterraneo: problemi e prospettive. Atti del V Congresso Internazionale di Numismatica e di Storia Monetaria. Padova, 17-19 marzo 2016, Numismatica Patavina13, 83-100 - see in bibliography , p. 89; Rosamilia, 2017 Rosamilia, E., 2017, The introduction of Bronze Standard in Cyrenaica: Evidence from the Damiergoi Accounts, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE), 201, 139-154 - see in bibliography , pp. 142-144, 151; Dobias-Lalou, 2017 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2017, Dire et écrire les noms en Cyrénaïque: quelques réflexions, in Inglese, A., Epigrammata 4. L'uso dei numeri greci nelle iscrizionie. Atti del Convegno Roma, 16-17 dicembre 2016, Tivoli, 183-208 - see in bibliography , p. 192. For general bibliography on the accounts of the damiergoi see IGCyr011400.

Text

Apparatus

5 Ζ[---]  : Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography  Ζα̣[---] 

9-13 (the first numeral read as Π by Oliverio is in fact a careless Μ, especially clear at line 9; see commentary)

10 [μ]έ(διμνοι) : Oliverio, 1932-1933 Oliverio, G., 1932-1933, Documenti antichi dell'Africa Italiana, I, fasc. 1-2, Bergamo - see in bibliography  [ὁ] μέδ(ιμνος) (the same, wholly supplied, at line 9)

French translation

[Dieux. Prêtre Untel, étant démiurges Untel] fils d'E [---] , [Untel] fils de Z [---] ,  [---] goras fils d'Ar [---] , les récoltes ont été estimées.

Premier semestre: [médimnes de froment], 42 000 (drachmes); médimnes [d'orge], 24 600 ; [de fèves], 42 000; [de pois chiches], 72 000; [de lentilles], 72 000; [autres légumes], 35 000;  [---] .

Second semestre: de froment, [tant]; d'orge, [tant]; de fèves, [tant]; de pois chiches, [tant]; de lentilles, [tant]; autres légumes, [tant];  [---] .

English translation

[Gods. Priest So-and-so, being damiergoi So-and-so] son of E [---] , [So-and-so] son of Z [---] ,  [---] goras son of Ar [---] , the crops were estimated.

First semester: [medimni of wheat], 42 000 (drachmas); medimni [of barley], 24 600 ; [of beans], 42 000; [of chick peas], 72 000; [of lentils], 72 000; [other pulse], 35 000;  [---] .

Second semester: of wheat, [so much]; of barley, [so much]; of beans, [so much]; of chick peas, [so much]; of lentils, [so much]; other pulse, [so much];  [---] .

Italian translation

[Dèi. Sacerdote il tale, quando erano damiurghi il tale] figlio di E [---] , [il tale] figlio di Z [---] ,  [---] goras figlio di Ar [---] , i raccolti sono stati valutati.

Primo semestre: [medimni di grano], 42 000 (dracme); medimni [di orzo], 24 600; [di fave], 42 000; [di ceci], 72 000; [di lenticchie], 72 000; [altri legumi], 35 000;  [---] .

Secondo semestre: di grano, [tanto]; di orzo, [tanto]; di fave, [tanto]; di ceci, [tanto]; di lenticchie, [tanto]; altri legumi, [tanto];  [---] .

Arabic translation

[الآلهة. فترة الكاهن فلان وكل من الداميرجوي فلان] بن إي [---] و[فلان] بن ز [---] و[---] جوراس بن أر [ ---]، تم تقدير المحاصيل كالتالي: الفصل الأول: [ميديمني من القمح]، 000 42 (دراخما)؛ ميديمني [من الشعير]، 600 24؛ [من الفول]، 000 42؛ [من الحمص]، 000 72؛ [من العدس]، 000 72؛ [من بقوليات أخرى]، 000 35؛ [---]. الفصل الثاني: من القمح، [قيمة ما]. من الشعير، [قيمة ما]. من الفول، [قيمة ما]. من البازلاء، [قيمة ما]. من العدس، [قيمة ما].قوليات أخرى، [قيمة ما]؛ [---].

Commentary

Ll. 9-13 are clearly not formulated in the same way as in the other accounts, as the numerals are huge. However, the system of numerals in use here seems to be the same as in IGCyr014300, i.e. M for 10000, 𐅦 for 1000 and then the hundreds (so Χ for 600), tens and single numbers expressed by the different letters of the alphabet. The amounts given for each product are very high, so that Oliverio imagined a special system for this only account. First of all, in the first ligature he identified a pi, which would be very different from the one at line 7. Dobias-Lalou thinks that it is nearer to a mu, whereas Oliverio's interpretation of the three orders as drachma, obol and chalkous would be totally unparalleled (so Dobias-Lalou, 2017 Dobias-Lalou, C., 2017, Dire et écrire les noms en Cyrénaïque: quelques réflexions, in Inglese, A., Epigrammata 4. L'uso dei numeri greci nelle iscrizionie. Atti del Convegno Roma, 16-17 dicembre 2016, Tivoli, 183-208 - see in bibliography ). No article should be restored at lines 9 and 10 and the abbreviated unit should be develped into a plural. One interpretation would be that the numerals given at each line should not correspond to a price, but to the total number of medimni. However Rosamilia, with the same readings, has now a very convincing explanation: the numbers give the total income for all the medimni gathered during the semester, calculated in bronze drachms of the bronze standard system in use since the years 180 B.C.

L. 5: for the father's name, neither the stone in its present condition nor Oliverio's photograph do confirm the presence of an alpha after the inital zeta. As no personal name beginning with ΖΑ is known, we prefer to drop Oliverio's reading.

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