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History
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A 1,800-Year-Old Receipt for Childcare: The Intimate Story of Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 91
Discovered in Egypt, Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 91 is a receipt from 187 AD for a 400 drachmae wet nursing payment. This mundane transaction between a father, Chosion, and a nurse, Tanenteris, offers a rare, personal glimpse into family life and economics in the Roman Empire.
In the quiet collection of Royal Holloway College in Egham, England, lies a fragile piece of papyrus, no bigger than a modern postcard. It is not a royal decree or a lost piece of literature. It is a receipt. Dated to the 13th of October, 187 AD, this document, known as Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 91, records a simple transaction: a payment for childcare. Yet, within its faded Greek script, it tells a profoundly human story that collapses the nearly two millennia separating our world from the bustling life of Roman Egypt.
An Everyday Transaction, Frozen in Time
The receipt is remarkably direct. It confirms that a woman named Tanenteris, daughter of Thonis, received 400 drachmae for her services as a wet nurse. The payment came from Chosion, son of Sarapion, the father of the infant she cared for. The transaction was not just a simple cash hand-off; it was formalized through a bank located at the grand Serapeum temple in the city of Oxyrhynchus. Every detail speaks to a structured, familiar world of contracts, finance, and the fundamental needs of a growing family.
The Human Story Behind the Ink
While the document is financial, its subject is deeply personal. Wet nursing was a common and vital profession in the ancient world. For families like Chosion's, hiring a wet nurse could be a necessity due to the mother's death in childbirth, illness, or simply the social customs of the time. For women like Tanenteris, it was a recognized form of labor. Contracts for wet nursing were often detailed, stipulating the length of service (typically two to three years), the nurse’s diet, and even her personal conduct to ensure the health of the child. This receipt is the tangible proof of a professional relationship built around one of life’s most vulnerable stages.
What Was 400 Drachmae Worth?
To understand the significance of this payment, we have to consider its value. While direct comparisons are difficult, a Roman legionary at the time earned roughly 900-1200 drachmae per year. This means the 400 drachmae paid to Tanenteris represented a substantial sum—perhaps four to six months of a soldier's salary. This was not a trivial expense. It underscores the value placed on a child's care and suggests that Chosion's family was reasonably well-off to afford such a formal arrangement.
From a Rubbish Heap to a Time Capsule
The story of the receipt's survival is as remarkable as the information it contains. It was unearthed from the ancient rubbish mounds of Oxyrhynchus, a city in Roman Egypt. The region's arid climate perfectly preserved countless documents that were simply thrown away, creating an accidental archive of daily life. Discovered by archaeologists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt in the late 19th century, these mountains of papyri offered an unprecedented window into the past. As papyrologist Claire Clivaz noted about the finds:
It’s a time machine, this rubbish.
And she's right. This single receipt for wet nursing does more to connect us to the past than many grand monuments. It reminds us that across centuries, the fundamental rhythms of life—birth, work, and paying the bills—remain strikingly the same. A father named Chosion wanted to ensure his child was fed, and a woman named Tanenteris provided that essential care. It’s a simple, universal story, written on a scrap of papyrus nearly 2,000 years ago.