A photo from open sources
Recently, scientists decoded the letter of an ancient Egyptian soldier. He wrote home more than 1800 years ago. The prayers sound in the letter a young man named Aurelius Polion who served in as a volunteer to the Roman Legion in Europe. Written in in a Greek letter, Polion informs his family that he is very misses him and asks for permission to go a long way home to see them. Turning to my mother (a bread seller), as well as to his brother and sister, he writes: “I tirelessly pray that you will calmly slept and were healthy. I pray on your behalf to all the gods and not stop writing to you. I worry about your fate because I don’t I receive letters from you and don’t even know how you are … “(Part of the letter doesn’t preserved). The back of the leaflet contains instructions for the carrier of the letter that needed to be delivered to the family soldier. Although the Roman Empire was widely used military the postal system, the letter of the young soldier for some reason was not transmitted by mail, but by courier. In addition, according to archival information the young soldier sent six letters to his family and, to Unfortunately, none of them received an answer. Historians suggest that perhaps in relationships between members of this family there was some tension. This assumption is confirmed the following lines of the letter: “While I am so far from at home in Pannonia, I managed to send you letters. But, you are behaving as if we were strangers, “the soldier writes.” Soon I have to get a vacation and then I will come to you so that you know that I am yours dear … “This emotion-filled letter was found archaeological expedition over a hundred years ago in an Egyptian city Tebtunis. However, along with this find, archaeologists have discovered numerous ancient papyri, and the translation of a soldier’s letter is simply there was no time left. Recently, Grant Adamson, a doctoral student from Rice University, took on the task of translating the letter. Via infrared images and new technologies he achieved readability ancient text. After examining the contents of the letter, Adamson concluded that the soldier’s letters did arrive home. “Why am I so inclined think? A letter addressed to the soldier’s family was found in ancient Egyptian city, near the Nile River, which means that there his relatives lived, “Adamson said.” This soldier lived in times when the Roman Empire controlled Egypt. He served in the legion stationed in Pannonia (territory of modern Hungary). Perhaps the reason for his voluntary service was food and payment subsidies. However, this soldier might not have known that he will have to carry out the service so far from his native home, hence it follows his desire to return home faster. In addition, this young man acting as a military volunteer parts away from home, despite apparent tension in the family, every day the desire to see relatives is increasing. The same can be said of modern soldiers carrying their service away from the homeland. ”
Time
