SOME NOTES ON P. HIB 198
The collection of third century B.C. ordinances under consideration here
was published in 1955 as part of the second volume of Hibeh papyri, although it
was not part of the cartonnage excavated by Grenfell and Hunt in 1902-3. It in
fact had been purchased at Illahun. Its publication represented an immense
amount of labor by the editors, Eric G. Turner and Marie-Therese Lenger, first in
reconstructing the papyrus physically from its fragments, and then in the task of
reading, restoring, translating, and commenting on the text. These labors compelled the scraps to yield up considerable information despite the exasperating
state of preservation, a notable triumph.
In the discussion below I have re-examined more fully the questions of
date and use of P.Hib. 198, in particular the question of to whom the document
might have belonged. These questions have, inevitably, led me into more detailed
investigation into certain parts of the papyrus, for which line commentary
appears below. My comments are not, however, meant to replace the original
commentary, since I do not cover all sections of the papyrus, nor restate points
made by the editors which I think need no further discussion. I have reprinted
the text only for the best-preserved parts of the diagramma, the only area in
which I have deviated substantially from the text of the editio princeps.
CONTENTS AND COMPOSITION
The fundamental division of the contents of 198 coincides with the
division between recto and verso both as reassembled and (so far as can be seen)
if the fragments are included. Whether this was so in the original condition of
the document, we cannot know, but it holds true now. The recto is, in turn,
seemingly divided into two primary sections, with a subdivision within the first.
1. All that we have preserved from the start to line 41 appears to deal with
the cleruchic system (see notes to lines 1-13). These dispositions include naming
of men in eponymous commands and other cleruchic forces, control over use of
stathmoi and kleroi and some fragmentary pieces apparently making further
regulations about cleruchs, but whose exact contents are unknown. It is fair, I
think, to make a division between column i, which lists specific men in positions,
i.e. a personnel section, and the remainder of the cleruchic sections, which are
general ordinances and regulations about treating cleruchs.
2. The remainder of the preserved portion of the recto was taken up by a
long diagramma covering a variety of matters of security. It appears to have been
some kind of comprehensive definition of the role of the police, who are
frequently mentioned, in handling lawbreakers and offenses of various sorts. The
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