The Fayum is a large depression in the western desert of Egypt,
receiving its water directly from the Nile. In the early Ptolemaic
period the agricultural area expanded a great deal, new villages were
founded and many Greeks settled here. When villages on the outskirts
were abandoned about AD 300-400, houses and cemeteries remained intact
for centuries. Here were found thousands of papyri, ostraca (potsherds)
and hundreds of mummy portraits, which have made the area famous among
classicists and art historians alike. Most papyri and ostraca are now
scattered over collections all over the world. The sixth volume of Collectanea
Hellenistica presents 145 reconstructed archives originating from
this region, including private, professional, official and temple
archives both in Greek and in native Demotic.
- ISBN13 9789042931626
- Publish Date 25 June 2015
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country BE
- Imprint Peeters Publishers
- Format Paperback
- Pages 496
- Language English