Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 137
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Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 137 (P. Oxy. 137 or P. Oxy. I 137) is the fifth in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a receipt for a water wheel axle, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 11 January 584. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10034) in Cairo.[1]
The document consists of an acknowledgement given by Aurelius Ptollion, a cultivator, to the heirs of Flavius Apion, of the receipt of an axle for a water wheel used in irrigation. This is one of a number of similar such documents (P. Oxy. I 192-197). There are some internal inconsistencies in the document which force Grenfell and Hunt to speculate slightly in order to arrive at a plausible date. The measurements of the fragment are 320 by 200 mm.[2]
It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.[2]
