Coptic Documentary Texts From Kellis: Volume 2 P. Kellis VII: 16 (Dakhleh Oasis Project Monographs) - Hardcover

The translations, with their underlying analysis, are sensitive and acute, never ignoring or evading difficulties. * Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgendlandes (WZKM) * The volume is excellently produced, reliable in transcription and translation, and use-friendly... a signal contribution to the field of Coptic papyrology and the history of fourth-century Egypt. * Bulletin of the American Society for Papyrologists * "This long-awaited volume sheds light on (among other matters) the textile trade, Coptic epistolography, women's literacy, book copying, travel between valley and the Oasis, religion, and above all, the life of an extended family over several decades. It provides both a new perspective on previously published material and a major addition to the dossier of fourth-century Coptic documentary material." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

This is the second volume on fourth century Coptic documents written on papyri and boards, found in the ruins of houses at Kellis, the Roman predecessor of the village of Ismant el-Kharab in the Dakhleh Oasis. It is concerned with 75 letters and associated household accounts and lists, mostly from House 3. The documents are transcribed and translated with commentary. Together, these two volumes break new ground in providing a unique insight into the social and economic relations of a sectarian group within a late antique village, and the opportunity to study that group's interaction with other communities. They give voice to ordinary people and provide genuine insights into literacy and the role of women, communications and travel, multilingual society and normative forms of belief and practice.