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Typographical Tips on Reading the Oxyrhynchus Papyri

By , About.com Guide

In the Oxyrhynchus papyri are many holes, gaps, and areas where the writing is not clear or wasn't "right" in the first place. The edges of the papyrus are the most damaged, generally, which means line or document beginnings and ends are likely to be missing. The papyrologist (generally, a classicist) who looks at the papyrus has to make educated guesses when he writes a transcription and translation, but he also has to show what he can and can't read. Sometimes he may be unable to do anything more than point out the known and unknown letters, with guesses about how many letters may have existed between them, but looking over each and every papyrus is still valuable because you never know when you'll find a new masterpiece. Until the finds in the Fayum (including Oxyrhynchus), and to a lesser extent at Herculaneum, the only works from the ancient classical world that we had were copies of copies of manuscripts made during the Middle Ages. This had put a firm limit on the number of extant classical works and authors.

The Leiden Convention, in 1931 standardized the critical symbols for papyrus, but the works of Grenfell and Hunt preceded it. Here are the main symbols used to show issues in Grenfell and Hunt's Oxyrhynchus papyrus deciphering:

  • [ ] - Square Brackets
    Indicate a lacuna.

  • ( ) - Round Brackets
    Resolution of a symbol or abbreviation.

  • [[ ]] - Double Square Brackets
    Indicate the letters between square brackets have been erased in the original document.

  • < > - Angle Brackets
    Letters omitted in the original.

  • { } - Braces
    Letters between braces were in the original but shouldn't have been.

  • ...... - Dots inside brackets
    The number of dots indicates the number of letters lost or erased. Best guess.

  • ...... - Dots outside brackets
    Indicate illegible letters.

  • Dots under letters
    Indicate letters about which the papyrologist is uncertain.
Other tips to keep in mind:
  • Generally, only the first time an abbreviation or symbol is used it will be explained.

  • Words are separated in the transliteration even though they are run together in the original.

  • Use of Numerals:
    1. Small Roman Numerals - refer to the number of the papyrus
    2. Large Roman Numerals- refer to the number of the column
    3. Arabic Numerals - refer to the number of the line.

Sources: from Grenfell and Hunt Oxyrhynchus Papyrus Part 1 (1898) and Oxyrhynchus Papyri Part 2 (1899).

Also The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, by Roger S. Bagnall (2009) and L. D. Reynolds and N. G. Wilson's Scribes and Scholars.

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