An Undertakers' Archive from the Kynopolite Nome (P. Kynopolites) (Collectanea Hellenistica, 10)

This book provides a comprehensive edition of five well-preserved Greek papyri from an archive of undertakers (nekrotaphoi) from the late Ptolemaic Kynopolite nome, four of which unpublished. The texts contain a wealth of information on mummification practices and funerary taxation in this era, in particular concerning the use of the embalming products kedria (Egyptian sfy) and pharmakon (Egyptian phr.t), the traditional seventy-day funerary period, and a mummification procedure in which bodies are temporarily buried in the sand. All this and more is discussed in an extensive commentary combining Greek and Egyptian evidence. Cover Title Copyright CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES FOR THE READER GENERAL INTRODUCTION EDITIONS 1. Receipt to Harentothes and his sons 2. Receipt to Menches 3. Receipt to Harbichis between tax farmers and undertakers 4. Synchoresis between tax farmers and undertakers 5. Receipt to Harentothes and his sons GENERAL DISCUSSION A. The officials B. The undertakers C. Onomastics D. The funerary taxes, products and services CONCLUSION CORRECTIONS TO OTHER DOCUMENTS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDICES CONCORDANCE