Ancient Fragments

A Latin will (2nd century)
"[M]y sons and Claudia Techosis ... mother of my children, shall be my only heirs to all my property in equal shares"—The last will and testament of C. Iulius Diogenes

Even as the Romans came to power in Egypt in 30 B.C., most Oxyrhynchus documents, whether official, religious, literary, or private, were still written in Greek. But the use of Latin is not the only thing that makes this will stand out. Few papyrus fragments of Roman wills exist today because most wills were engraved on wax tablets; in fact, this document is likely a copy of an official wax will.

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