The foot of what must have been the right-hand portion of a diptych containing the conclusion of a letter with an address on the back. The reading of the name is not absolutely certain but it is very probable that the addressee is the prefect Iulius Verecundus. Since the sender uses the term col(lega) of himself he too was probably a praefectus of a unit.
. . . . . . . .
].e desiderio meo
neque adhuc plus uerb.r..
S..am..a mea te salu[tat
bene uale frater [
. . . . . . . .
Iulio Verecun[do
praef(ecto) coh(ortis)
]io col(lega)
my desire ... nor as yet (has there been) any more talk (?). My ... greets you ... (2nd hand) Farewell, brother ... (Back, 1st hand) To Iulius Verecundus, prefect of the cohort, from ...ius, his colleague."
It is difficult to see how to make sense of these lines. We could imagine something like some part of scribo followed by ] de desiderio meo or indul]ge desiderio meo, cf. ChLA X 434 (= CEL 175).
uerborum is a possible reading at the right. The sense given in the translation is suggested only with diffidence. Adams points out that neque (non) adhuc is a standard combination, meaning "not as yet" and that uerba can mean "talk". In neque the final e is very difficult.
This seems to be the work of a second hand. The alignment suggests that it has been rather squeezed in at the end and it is uncertain whether a line is lost after this, although one might envisage e.g. karissime in the missing portion at the right or below.
Iulio is certain, as is V following it; the letters following are incomplete but all suit the reading, which we suggest with confidence because of the gentilicium and the fact that Iulius Verecundus is attested as prefect at Vindolanda.
It is noteworthy that the abbreviation of coh(ortis) is marked by h with an exaggerated curve and tail, cf. [295].i.3.