This volume presents 455 inscribed pottery fragments, or ostraka,
found during NYU's excavations at Amheida in the western desert of Egypt. The
majority date to the Late Roman period (3rd to 4th century AD), a time of rapid
social change in Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean generally. Amheida was a
small administrative center, and the full publication of these brief texts
illuminates the role of writing in the daily lives of its...