A New Fragment of a Greek Tragedy

Extract

Fragments of mummy-cartonnage, formerly in the collection of University College, London, now on permanent loan to the Ashmolean. Parts of two columns of a papyrus-text of a Greek Tragedy: head and foot of both columns partly preserved. The lines of col. ii are not quite straight opposite those of col i. There were eighteen or nineteen lines in col. i, nineteen in col. ii, the last line of col. ii being slightly below the level of the last line of col. i. The text was written in the third century B.C, perhaps before 250 B.C. The hand is similar to that of P. Petrie I Plate V. No Lesezeichen of any kind are visible. [Fragment (a) = 6·9×7·1 cm.: (b)=6·7×10·9 cm.: (c) = 4·2×14·2 cm. Height of column of writing =14·7 cm. Existing margins = 2·5 and 2·3 cm. Probable height of roll = 20/21 cm. (P. Petrie I, of same age and similar hand, is 21 cm. high). Fr. (a) = col. i, 1–6 + col. ii, beginnings of 2–4: fr. (b) = col. i, 9–18 + col. ii, beginnings of 9–14, 16–19: fr. (c) = col. ii, middle of 1–15.]