This is the earliest known document of the Ptolemaic period that refers to the families of choachytes in the necropolis at Memphis; for more information on these families, see D. Thompson, "Memphis under the Ptolemies", pp.157-159 ( Google Books ). Women feature prominently in the contact, but it is still unclear whether women in Memphis were permitted to perform the duties of a choachyte; the evidence is discussed by M. Cannata, "Three Hundred Years of Death", pp.116-117 ( Google Books ).
The translation is adapted from M. Pezin, "Un contrat memphitique de partage de revenus liturgiques" ( BIFAO 87 ). The title "choachyte's daughter", which occurs three times in the translation, should perhaps be rendered as "woman choachyte", as argued by K. Donker van Heel, "The Archive of the Theban Choachyte Petebaste Son of Peteamunip", p. 20 ( Google Books ).
In year 13, 3rd month of . . ., [of king] Alexander, son of Alexander; the woman Ta-irou, surnamed Heriobastis, daughter of the choachyte Imouthes, whose mother is Nehit-oeris, has said to the woman Hedjet-n-pouni, daughter of the choachyte Pkylis, whose mother is Na-nefer-sechmet, the daughter of my elder brother:
You have satisfied my heart with the money from my ⅙ share of the prebend of the choachyte Imouthes, son of Pkylis, 2 whose mother is Hedjet-n-pouni, my father, your father's father, which prebend is located in the necropolis of Memphis;
as well as ⅙ of the share of the prebend of the choachyte's daughter Hedjet-n-pouni, daughter of Petemestous, whose mother is Thamoys, the mother of my father, the mother of your father's father, which prebend is located in the necropolis of Memphis;
as well as ⅙ of the share of the prebend of the choachyte's daughter Nehit-oeris, daughter of Teos, whose mother is Setja-iret-binet, my mother, the mother of your father;
as well as ⅙ of the share of any tomb, any burial place, 3 any funerary monument, any contribution [belonging to Imouthes, son of Pkylis, my father, the father of your father mentioned above, which are located in the necropolis of Memphis;
as well as ⅙ of the tombs, burial sites, funerary monuments, and contributions from the choachyte's daughter Hedjet-n-pouni, daughter of Petemestous, the mother of my father, the mother of your father's father, which are located in the necropolis of Memphis;
as well as ⅙ of the share of the tombs, burial sites, funerary monuments, contributions, and prebends belonging to Nehit-oeris, daughter of Teos, whose mother is Setja-iret-binet, 4 my mother, the mother of your father mentioned above;
[as well as ⅙ of the share of the enclosure located north of the house of the choachyte Imouthes, son of Pkylis mentioned above, which measures 70 divine cubits from south to north, by 45 divine cubits from west to east, which is located at Thnj-ʿnb-tȝwj, outside the wall of Thnj, south of the dromos of Imhotep son of Ptah, the great god.
To you belong my ⅙ share of the above-mentioned prebends, as well as my ⅙ share of their . . ., as well as my ⅙ share of the graves, burial sites, funerary monuments, and contributions from the above-mentioned prebends; 5 as well as my ⅙ share of the enclosure [above;] as well as everything that comes in their name and everything that will be added to it, from this day forward and forevermore.
I have no claim in the world to make against you, in their name. Whoever comes against you because of them, I will cause him to depart from you, and I will cause you to be freed from every document and from everything in the world. To you belong all the writings that have been made about them, as well as all the writings in whose name I derive rights: they belong truly to you, with their right. To you belongs that in whose name I derive rights. The oath or testimony that you will be asked to make in their name, I will make; while the choachyte Haryotes 6 surnamed Djed-her-minis, son of Psen..., his eldest son, declares:
Do all that is mentioned above, my heart is satisfied. I am far from you regarding ⅙ of the prebends and everything that Ta-irou, surnamed Heriobastis, daughter of Imouthes, my mother mentioned above, wrote for you about them. I have no claim in the world to make against you, in their name. Whoever comes against you because of them, in my name, I will cause him to depart from you.
Written by Harchebis, son of . . .
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