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This papyrus is one end of a roll and consists in its present state of eleven contiguous pieces. Its physical state suggests that it was rolled from left to right with the verso (P. Dura 117) on the inside, which resulted in the last column of the recto (P. Dura 116) suffering the greatest damage.
P. Dura 116 / DP 76 (A) - Recto
Names and Notations by Centuries and Turmae
List of Principales(?)
Metadata
Date: A. D 236, Consulate of Imp. Caesar C. Iulius Maximinus Augustus and M. Pupienus
Africanus
Provenance: Doura (Dura-Europos) - Syria (Mesopotamia - Syria) [found and written]
Language/Script: Latin
Material/Dimensions: Papyrus: a: 95 x 237; b: 95 x 270mm
Publication:
- P. Dura 116 (Welles, Charles Bradford / Fink, Robert O. / Gilliam, James F. - 1959) [default]
- Chartae Latinae antiquiores (ChLA) 9 371 (Bruckner, Albert / Marichal, Robert - 1977)
- Roman Military Records 23 (Fink, Robert O. - 1971)
The text of the recto contains four columns of names, whose lines range from four (Col. iii) to ten (Col. ii). The document appears to be complete at the bottom, but the variations in spacing between columns prevent us from judging its completeness on the right and left. Although the general form of the text and, especially, the notations beside names recall partial rosters found elsewhere in the corpus, the text has been suggested as potentially a List of Principales, junior officers in the Roman army ranks.
Its date - 236 A.D - was ascertained by Gilliam’s observation of the mark Cos stp XV present in i.8 and ii.7. This curious notation might represent a way of expressing a year in which the names of consuls were omitted from official records as punishment, becoming unmentionable: damnatio memoriae. The notation, Gilliam proposed, could roughly be akin to “___ and___ consuls (15 years)”. In this case, the consuls would have been those of Elagabalus and Alexander, in 222. Hence, taking into account the “15 years” specified in the document, we are led to believe the year was 236. The importance of this notation also lies in that it suggests that the “standard” formula for dealing with years in which neither consul could be named - III et I Cos, III et II Cos, etc. - had not been devised yet.
The form of the list is somewhat inconsistent, and its purpose is not evident. The handwriting is reflective of the skillful clerks. In contrast with documents of a public or formal character, these documents suggest a clerk concerned with speed and utility, not with appearance.
P. Dura 117 / DP 76 (B) - Verso
List of Names by Centuries, with Numeral
Metadata
Date: A. D 236, Consulate of Imp. Caesar C. Iulius Maximinus Augustus and M. Pupienus
Africanus
Provenance: Doura (Dura-Europos) - Syria (Mesopotamia - Syria) [found and written]
Language/Script: Latin
Material/Dimensions: Papyrus: a: 95 x 237; b: 95 x 270mm
Publication:
- P. Dura 117 (Welles, Charles Bradford / Fink, Robert O. / Gilliam, James F. - 1959) [default]
- Chartae Latinae antiquiores (ChLA) 9 372 (Bruckner, Albert / Marichal, Robert - 1977)
- Roman Military Records 33 (Fink, Robert O. - 1971)
The text of the verso consists of parts of 6 columns. It is complete at the top and most likely on the left as well The latter is suggested by the traces of two capital letters at the extreme left edge which are almost certainly a smudged reflection of IM in the first line of Col. i.
The formal heading with which Col. i begins, dates the text to the 1-year consulship of the emperor Maximinus Thrax, A.D 236, strengthening the dating of the papyrus suggested by the recto. This is the only document from Dura to mention Maximinus.
The nature of this list could probably be understood if the notation dcc or pdcc, which apparently precedes every name, could be explained.