Historically, the tax-register has had little to no significance other than to aid in the verification of fragment position. Egyptologists have made little effort to reconstruct the text because it is much sparserly written than the king list on the verso. Because of the fragmentary nature, accurate translation and interpretation are extremely difficult. There seems to be only two translation attempts: Helck’s from 1992 and Warburton’s from 1997.
The original papyrus once recorded a series of tax records, ostensibly for the administration. Unfortunately, the fragmentary records does not preserve an administrative region or location, but refer to the handling of many different wares, such as wine, cattle, charcoal, gold etc. Many types of profession are listed in a number of locations, especially oases in the Fayuum.
Warburton
David A. Warburton. 1997/ State and Economy in Ancient Egypt: Fiscal Vocabulary of the New Kingdom.The Tax Lists of the Royal Canon of Turin. pp. 159-164
The papyrus is very fragmentary, and thus a translation does not necessarily throw much light on the subject, but some parts are well enough preserved to justify presentation here, and some of the references may be fragmentary and of no value in the context of this papyrus, but can be used to elucidate other references.
It is of course amusing to try and fit some of the missing fragments into positions, but this has been tried many times, and does not necessarily demonstrate the hypothesis. As the interpretation of fragmentory texts is highly speculative in any case, the temptation to philological discussion has thus been suppressed. A serious attempt at commentary of this particular text would unfortunately lead one immediately into the realm of insubstantial fantasy.David A. Warburton
The Tax Lists of the Royal Canon of Turin
KEY:
. . . | textual loss (three spaced dots) |
... | textual omission (three dots) |
<word> | restoration, uncertain |
(word) | logical clarification of text which may have been understood |
word | suggested restoration, based on signs visible in text. |
(?) | doubt about text or meaning of word |
written in red ink |
Column 1 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
1 | . . . on their head1 . . . |
2 | . . . |
3 | . . . |
4 | . . . |
5 | . . . 2 |
7 | . . . making |
8 | . . . (?) . . . |
9 | . . . (?) . . . |
10 | . . . (?) . . . |
11 | . . . (full?) . . . |
12 | . . . (?) . . . |
13 | . . . (?) . . . |
14 | . . . |
15 | . . . |
16 | . . . |
17 | . . . |
18 | . . . (?) |
19 | . . . (?) |
20 | . . . (?) |
21 | . . . man(?) . . . |
1 As this can mean anything from obligation to authority or "on behalf of", etc. it would serve no purpose to suggest a translation. |
Column 2 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
1 | . . . charcoal (?) 10 resin ??? . . . 9 of his orders (?) |
2 | . . . 1 . . . 20 bring(?) ḥwt measure of corn < |
3 | . . . measure of corn live goose 1 |
4 | . . . (???) 2 . . . their annual . . . Asiatic |
5 | . . . |
6 | . . . 1 Asiatic |
7 | . . . of . . . to deben of silver . . . |
8 | . . . stripling . . . |
9 | . . . |
10 | . . . hundred |
11 | . . . hundred |
12 | . . . hundred 30 |
13 | . . . 700 waterfowl 400 |
14 | . . . 85 |
15 | . . . 400 measure of corn3 . . . |
16 | . . . in fish ⟨10000?⟩ . . . |
17 | . . . gold deben . . . |
18 | . . . fish ⟨20000 . . . |
19 | . . . gold? |
1 Not foreign or imported, but merely a designation of type. 2 This expression (and the same in the preceding line) refers to back obligations "thrown" together. 3 This is almost assuredly to be read differently, but cannot be resolved. |
Column 3 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
1 | Guardian of the |
2 | Guardian of natron who is in Ramana, (ditto) (ditto) ditto gold deben 1 . . . 10001 |
3 | Carpet weavers who are in |
4 | Proper |
5 | Proper |
6 | |
7 | |
8 | . . .4 the scribe of . . . hundred |
8a | . . . hundred . . . |
8b5 | . . . (???) silver kite 40 on . . . |
9 | . . . fish 20000 + ?, fowl |
10 | . . . proper |
11 | . . . hundred . . . |
12 | . . . (???) . . . hundred |
13 | |
14 | which is upon him for Pharaoh . . . 1 |
15 | gold(?) . . . fish . . . on |
16 | . . . (???) |
17 | |
18 | . . . |
19 | . . . |
20 | . . . temple Abydos . . . (???) |
21 | . . . in village . . . |
22 | . . . all, from southern district . . . all |
23 | . . . natron . . . the silver . . . |
24 | . . . deben(?) scribe, 50, making deben |
25 | . . . < |
26 | . . . 5 black leather sacks 5 |
27 | . . . 5? . . . ore, handfuls (?), each one, 20, making 100. Wooden (?) whips 5 |
1 W. Helck (Materialien, p. 958) understood this as meaning "Natronwächter in Ramun liefert 1000 dbn Gold ab." Considering the
condition of the papyrus this reading is certainly a bit courageous, but even comparing it to other sources indicates that the lacuna here
must cover something to the effect that so-and-so-much-of-something-else equals the gold-obligation. 2 Dot in black, not red. 3 Gardiner discards the possibility that this is to be read, but proposes nothing else. 4 Gardiner does not make any distinction indicating that there may have been a red "ditto" here, so that the line cannot be used to suggest that scribes paid 5 Although Gardiner has numbered this line as (3,8), the appearance of the fragments does not support this numbering, and thus the deviation. |
Columns 4-5 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
x-1 | 1 . . . 3000 |
1 | |
2 | . . . charcoal . . . |
3 | . . . controllers of the (?) . . . his |
4 | . . . gold (???) blank (?) . . . |
5 | steward . . .(?) . . . |
6 | |
7 | . . . gum . . . |
8 | . . . |
9 | . . . |
10 | . . . 10 |
11 | . . . fat. (?) . . . |
12 | |
13 | |
14 | |
15 | hunters (?) of . . . 2 making . . . |
16 | (?) . . . (?) . . . overseer of fortress of <8 (?) . . . |
17 | (?) . . . |
18 | < |
19 | . . . (?) |
20 | . . . 550 total 400+x . . . proper |
21 | |
22 | . . . |
23 | . . . ferry of the riverbank . . . |
24 | . . . making the list of the remainder from them . . . total 3000 . . . |
25 |
. . . his |
26 | . . . 50(?) |
27 | . . . |
28 | . . . |
29 | . . . |
1 The scribe was forming columns for his own purposes, and these seem at times to have made one column of coherent data in lines
extending from column IV to column V. Although this was not done consistently, and therefore the interpretation is bound to be limited by speculation,
the reading has been taken in that fashion. Cf. Gardiner’s note to the effect that the columns in the published text are only indicated as
a reference (Royal Canon, p. 17.) |
Column 6 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
x+1 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+2 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+3 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+4 | . . . the |
x+5 | . . . Cush . . . |
x+6 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+7 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+8 | . . . gold (?) . . . |
x+9 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+10 | . . . (?) . . . |
x+11 | . . . |
x+12 | . . . Overseer, Mayor(?) . . . |
x+13 | . . . of each of the mayors of . . . |
x+14 | . . . |
x+15 | . . . |
x+16 | . . . |
x+17 | . . . |
x+18 | . . . |
x+19 | . . . |
x+20 | . . . of |
Column 7 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
1 | . . . his |
2 | . . . ditto . . . |
3 | . . . ditto . . . |
4 | . . . ditto |
5 | . . . ditto |
6 | . . . ditto |
7 | . . . ditto |
8 | . . . ditto |
9 | . . . ditto |
10 | . . . ditto |
11 | . . . ditto |
12 | . . . ditto |
13 | . . . ditto |
14 | . . . ditto |
15 | . . . ditto . . . |
16 | . . . |
17 | . . . 36 . . . |
18 | . . . 20 . . . 10 . . . |
19 | . . . 67 . . . |
20 | . . . 27 . . . |
21 | . . . (?) 7300 . . . |
22 | . . . (?) . . . |
23 | . . . (?) . . . |
24 | . . . |
25 | . . . (?) . . . |
26 | . . . 2 (?) 36 (?). . . |
Column 8* | |
---|---|
Recto of fr. 41+42+89, 150, 152+151, 22+X/24-26 according to Ryholt’s second column on the verso. | |
Row | Translation |
1 | . . . 400 measure of corn . . . |
2 | . . . in fish ⟨10000?⟩ . . . |
3 | . . . gold deben . . . |
4 | . . . fish ⟨20000 . . . |
5 | . . . gold? |
6 | . . . |
7 | . . . |
8 | . . . |
9 | . . . |
10 | . . . on their head1 . . . |
11 | . . . |
12 | . . . |
13 | . . . |
14 | . . . 2 |
15 | . . . (?) . . . |
16 | . . . making |
* Fr. 41+42 *** TBD *** Same rows as 2.15-19 + 1.1-5 1 As this can mean anything from obligation to authority or "on behalf of", etc. it would serve no purpose to suggest a translation. |
Column 9 | |
---|---|
Row | Translation |
8.x+1 | . . . the controller of the well... |
8.x+2 | . . . the controller of the Migdol1 . . . |
8.x+3 | . . . the controller of the well <Ramesses II> . . . |
8.x+4 | . . . the controller of the well <Ramesses II> . . . |
8.x+5 | . . . the controller of the well <Ramesses II> which is in the br...2 |
8.x+6 | . . . the controller of the well <Ramesses II> . . .3 |
8.x+7 | |
8.x+8 | |
8.x+9 | . . . man 1, stripling 1 . . . |
8.x+10 | . . . man 1 . . . |
8.x+11 | . . . man 1 . . . |
8.x+12 | . . . man 1 . . . |
8.x+13 | . . . man 1 . . . |
8.x+14 | . . . wine, |
8.x+15 | . . . measure of corn 22 |
1 Following Gardiner (Royal Canon, p. 17). 2 Th1s is probably related to the toponym. 3 Helck (Materialien, p. 250) points out that these fortifications and wells were on the desert route between Sile and Raphia. |
REMARKS
This execrably preserved papyrus once recorded a series of records concerning various fiscal activities, naming the term employed along with the person upon whom the obligation was put, and the precise objects which were turned over to the administration as a result of this. It must be emphasized that it does not appear from the fragmentary remains visible today that the lists recorded to whom the payments were made (with the exception of "which is upon him for Pharaoh", 3, 14). Geographically, it certainly referred to oases and the Fayum, administratively, it seems to have covered many different types of profession, and the diversity of the objects rendered up includes wine, charcoal, fish, cattle, gold, etc. The value of the papyrus being considerably impaired as a result of its fragmentary state, the following conclusions resemble the above "translation" in being restrained rather than exuberant, and attempt to summarize the conclusions which can be justifiably drawn from the text, without undue exaggeration.
It would seem that the words wrilten in red ink had some particular significance, and these include
Aside from the word for annual, certain of the rotes of assessment, and the word for summary, only one title is written is red (if "hunter" is the correct rendering), and this only once (and it is assumed here that this is an oversight), so it is assumed that no particular importance was associated with the officials, but that these terms of reference (rotes of assessment, etc.) were significant.
It is pointless to attempt to use the text statistically, so that the categories alone are worthy of attention. Where preserved,
Conversely, professional administrators (mayors, overseers, deputies, scribes, controllers) outnumber workers (fishermen, fowlers, guardians, mat weavers), but they all figure alongside one another, but wherever possible, it would appear that the types of obligations that they owe are clearly distinguished, although the jottings physically mix the categories, they are clearly differentiated).
In the preserved text, fish and cattle are the most important items listed, but gold and silver figure to a striking extent. It is striking that successive lines list alternatively mats, whips, fowl, fish and silver (or gold), and that - seemingly - only cattle were deliberately grouped together and kept apart. Although an entire deben of gold is explicitly collected from the natron guardian (3,2), 471 it would appear that there is otherwise no evidence of the employment of financial substitutions or equivalencies for exactions intended to be delivered in fish, mats, wine, reeds, gum, or geese, etc., and thus it seems fair to conclude that the actual articles listed were assessed, assembled, and acquired.
Helck
Wolfgang Helck. “Anmerkungen zum Turiner Königspapyrus”. SAK 19 (1992)
pp. 151-216 (194-201 below)
Column 1 | |
---|---|
x+1 ........ / Thinis (repetition lines) / 2730 x+2 ..... 300, oipe(?) ..../ bowl 1 (repetition lines) /9590 x+3 ..... Silver x+4 ..... Fish 30 000/ ... 1 bowl ...(?) Meaa-canal ... 130 x+5 ..... Silver (?), poll tax (of) ... (?) (gap) (112) x+6 ...................... (Hundreds) x+7 ...................... (Hundreds) x+8 ...................... (Hundreds) +30 x+9 ...................... 700, waterfowl 400 x+10...................... 85 | |
Column 2 | |
1. [Mayor of] Faiyum, 1 person, his tax : [Silver kite 2] ... 1 Salt (a) 1 Coal 10 Rubber x Shortage (b): 9 additional duties (c) of his staff 2. [Suchos], 1 (person), (his tax): [Silver kite] 2 ... ... 1 ... 20 3. ............. 1 (person), (his tax): (silver) x(?) 4. [People, their supplies:]... 1 It was issued: [Living Goose] 1 [Asian cloth]ing 2 Shortage (b) [x additional duties] from their annual supplies: Asian clothing 12 ... 5. [The leader] of one half of the stonemason [troop], 6. [x workers, 7. ... For silver- x+2 ... poll tax of the deputy of the ...: ... ... Amphore 1 x+3 lacuna x+4 lacuna x+5 ...: ... 2 pigeons 5 (ditto marks) 10 (workers) (?) (empty) x+6 ..... of the reed worker(s) ..... (a) For the spelling see Wb III 82, 4. (b) see. Wb III 213, 12; written in red, probably a term of administrative speech. (c) It is probably Wb III 16, 9, but the determinative is unclear. (d) see. Wb I 99, 15? (e) This repetition is indicated by the vertical bars. (f) read sḥn : Wb IV 217, 1. | |
Column 3 | |
1. The guardian of the flock of birds, which is at the Ihara(a)-canal: 1 man
2. The guardian of natron, who is in Ramuna: 1 man ( 3. The carpet weaver, who is in the town mr-wr: 1 (man) ( 4. Regular taxes of Suchos, the leader of the Two Lands: Silver 1..... next to the ..... of the port(?) ..... 5. Regular withdrawal received from the fishermen of the lake of Suchos: fish 200,000; balance ... 6. Mayor’s 7. Poll tax of the deputy of the (mayor of the lake of Suchos) (c) (silver) 8. [Poll tax] of the scribes of the (mayor of the lake of Suchos) (at the "sea" of the "lake" (=Faiyum): 9. ..... (of) (the Mayor of the lake of Suchos) (c) : Normal [tax:] Silver 10. 11. The ..... Normal deliveries ..... : various fish, birds (d) 30 12. ..... (Normal deliveries) ..... 13. City ferry (Normal delivery) (c) 14. 15. What is with him for Pharaoh on the first of the third day? What on [him] is on the 10th: 16. gold (?) x, fish x ..... as (?) poll tax 17. ..... 18. (only letter remains) 19. One ..... for the 10 ..... (?) ..... 100 (baskets?) 100 substances [. . .] 10 ps breads 20. That which is with him for Pharaoh for] the first of the first prt: ..... Taxes of employees (smdt) ..... 6 [people], each 6 21. ....... Elephantine. 22. ...... in the harbor...... 23. [dues] of all ports in the southern half of the administration .... [Taxes] of all employees of the port of Memphis: 1 24. [The..... ] Natron, 25. .....; the antelope bringer ..... Scribe 50, makes 26. ...... 10 employees of the ....... (?) of the scribes: makes 27. ..... ..... 5 black skins 5 28. ....... [5] Metal hands each 20, makes 100 Wooden whips 5 29. ...... (a) Indicated by repetition stroke. (b) Indicated by repetition mark. (c) Indicated by repetition stroke. (d) An inexplicable sign. (e) Both lines 2 and 6 contain only the "gold"-sign with a gap in front of it; it is safe to assume that the "HD"-sign" in front of it has to be added each time, but this also affects the repetition mark in line 7. | |
Column 4 | |
1. Fishhauler, 1 man ....... [fish] 3000 2. charcoal [.....on] each shore of the temple of Amun in the southern administrative area: 3. The inspector of the riverside estates 4. The Great [of the House] .....; his [poll] tax 2 5. The manager of the [Gardens?] ..... 6. Poll tax 7. Rubber ...... 10 8. ....... 9. ....... 1 for 1 man 10. ........ (1) man 11. goat fat ..... 12. 13. Poll tax for each of them by .... 14. The hunter and ½ boy ..... 15. The hunter of ..... 16. Eye make-up worker ..... (ditto) ....... 2, makes x 17. Greenstone haulers .... (ditto) greenstone x ..... the commander of the fortress of ..... 18. 19. makes smashed (?) x8 Their harvest tax for the year: Fish x 20. Normal 21. Poll tax of everyone in the ..... The policemen 2 kite silver 22. ..... (..x silver kite) (a) 23. ..... x (silver kite) (a) 24. ..... (to make) a personnel list of the rest of them, by ....... 25. ..... his annual [tax]: bovine (goats?) (b) delivered Debit Balance 1 3 32 [29] 26. ..... (his annual tax) 27. ..... from ... ata (his annual tax) 28. ..... from ... -canal “ “ 29. ..... from ... -canal “ “ (a) Indicated by "ditto" dot. (b) The goats are advised because in the first entry indicated only by a vertical "ditto" dash. | |
Column 5 | |
1 deliveries that were with them: 2 [loaves], various 3000 3 “ 10101 4 “ 5230 5 “ 6400 6 “ 4800 Nb. This entry is to be separated from that in IV and not, as made in materials 471, to be associated with it! | |
Column 6 | |
Cattle (goats?) Delivered (debit) (balance) 1 ..... his annual tax 1 x (continuously lost) 2 ..... “ (1) x 3 ..... “ (1) x 4 ..... “ 1 x 5 ..... “ 1 - 6 ..... “ 1 4 7 ..... “ 1 6 19 (frgm. 4) 8 ..... “ 1 2 9 ..... “ 1 6 10 ..... “ 1 5 11 ..... (God) “ 1 3 12 ..... “ 1 2 13 Pa[pyrus hauler] “ 1 10 14 the elder (?) ..... “ 1 1 15 [List ( 16 [King\'s son of] Kush “ x x 17 [Deputy of] [Kush] x 36 18 [month x] 10 days T[ax] [10] 20 10 (b) 19 Gold[hauler] .... x 67 x 20 ...... from Taj[a....] x 27 x 21 ..... from .....-canal pidgeons 7300 22 [Senior pol]ice ..... 23 [poll tax of the] Overseer of the estuaries 24 [poll tax] of each of the mayors of [the southern administrative district?]... 25 Poll tax of the deputy [the mayor?] ..... (tree product) 26 [Dispatch of] policemen from ... (to) ... Eye make-up (!) (c) ... 27 [Dispatch of police]men from ... (to) ... 28 [Dispatch of po]liceman from ... (to) ... Delivery (?) .... 29 [Dispatch] of policemen from ... (to) ... 30 Poll tax of the inspectors ..... 31 [The] inspectors of | |
Column 7 | |
x+1 The inspector of wells [of x+2 The inspector of Migdol [of x+3 The inspector of wells [of x+4 The inspector of wells [of x+5 The inspector the wells of x+6 The inspector of the fortress of x+7 List of deliveries of the southern and northern oases: x+8 Oases, southern x+9 ...... 1 man, 1 boy ... x+10 ...... 1 man, “ ... x+11 ...... 1 man, 1 “ ... x+12 ...... 1 man, 1 “ ... x+13 ...... 1 man, 1 “ ... x+14 ...... (1 man, 1 “) “ Wine 12 amphorae x+15 ................... “ kuja fruits 22 oipe (a) "Kush" is indicated by repeating marks. (b) Here, apparently, the cattle entries stop and recording of the goats (?) has moved to the beginning of the line; line 19 speaks for the interpretation put forward, in which a smaller number stands behind a larger one, to which the received beginning of this calculation is to be compared to Col. V. (c) Read ( (d) For the additions to the well names cf. their lists in Pap. Anastasi I 27 as well as in the set of etchings on the northern outer wall of the hypostyle room in Karnak, s. Helck, Relations2, 310 ff. |