The Wines of the Ancient Orient. 21 



of the Ptolemies the winetax seems to have been paid in money '. 

 Wilcken, Griechische Ostraka, p. 270, 86 discusses the winetax of 

 the Roman period, called o'l'vou TSAoq. The tax is levied in the 

 Roman period from the owners of the vineyards, who produce 

 wine 2. This tax \\\zx be viewed either as constitutino- an 

 assessment placed upon the amount of the produce of wine 

 yielded from the individual vineyards, or as a tax placed on 

 the consumption of wine, which, according- to Wilcken, may 

 have been levied indirectly on the producer, in order ultima- 

 tely to be paid by the consumer. The difference in the quality 

 of the grapes and the wine was seemingly instrumental in the 

 varying amount of the winetax. Theban Ostraca, University 

 of Toronto Studies, I9I3, pp. I24 125 gives three wine-tax 

 receipts. No. 88 (G. 280) is as follows: "Tithoes, son of Peto- 

 sorkon has paid through Horos for the valuation of wine for 

 the tenth year in the Upper toparchy 4 obols. Year lo of 

 Domitianus our Lord, Hathur 1 1 " (i. e , 90 A. D.). No. 89 (Gr. 70), 

 dated in 181 2 A. D. reads: "Miusis and his colleagues, super- 

 visors of the valuation of wine and palms to Pekrichis, son 

 of Pekrichis, son of Heraklas. We have received from you 

 for the valuation of wine of the produce of the twenty-.second 

 year eleven dr. 2 obols = 11 dr., 2 obols, which we will pay 

 into the official bank". The third document dates back to 



the early third century A. D.: "Aurelios athes. son 



of Inaros and Plenis, son of Psenenphos, collectors of the 

 valuation of wine and palms of the third year, in respect 

 of Aurelios Pechutes, son of Premtotes, on Ve arura 24 dr. 

 Year 3, Mesore 8. Also for the fourth year 8 dr.'' A 

 custom-house receipt for wine imported upon a donke}' is 

 preserved to us in the Tebtunis papyri^. It reads "Aure- 

 lius Plutammon has paid through the custom-house of Kaine 

 the tax of Vioo ^^^ ^'50 '^^ importing upon one donkey 



i) Wilcken, Griechische Oslraka. 86, No. 327. 



2) The wholesale wine-merchant = o've|UTropoc, Grenf. II, 61, and Pap. 

 Oxyr. I, 43. The wine-merchant = oivoTTpdTnc or oivoTTibXric BGU 34; Pap. 

 IJerl. P. 1410, The wine-administrator = o'voxeipiOTi']C in Byz. [time, P. Oxyr. 

 14(, 150 (Wikiven, 0. c, p. 693). 



3' Grentell and Hunt, The 7'edCwiis Papyri. Part II, No. 362. 



