A fragment of a letter, which probably belongs to the left-hand side of a diptych, referring to the despatch of wagons (cf. [314], [316]). The hand bears some similarity to that of [213] and [313] but it is slower and more careful and is probably not the same. Interpunct is found everywhere except after monosyllables and after carrula in line 2.
. . . . . . . .
traces
ut carrula uobis · den-
tur · et alias · ad Vocusium
Africanum · praefectum
]...r.rum
. . . . . . . .
"... in order that wagons may be given to you and ... other ... to Vocusius Africanus the prefect ..."
carrula: there is a neuter by-form carrum of the more commonly attested masculine form carrus (see B.Hisp. 6.2, carra complura ... retraxit). OLD, TLL and LS record only a masculine form of the diminutive carrulus but refer only to Digest 17.2.52.15, carrulorum uecturas. The evidence of the present text suggests that this might better be understood as a neuter, carrulum. We note also that the glossaries record a neuter Greek diminutive _______ cf. LSJ, s.v.
alias should perhaps be taken as an adjective agreeing with a noun such as epistulas; alternatively, the adverb, meaning "besides".
Vocusium Africanum: despite the loss of the bottoms of the first three letters of the cognomen there is no doubt about the reading. This person does not appear elsewhere in the tablets.
...r.rum: ...rorum is a possible reading and this suggests that we might have the name of the unit of which Africanus was prefect. Of the units attested in Britain in this period whose names have this ending, cohors i Celtiberorum (CIL 16.51 = RIB II 2401.2, AD 105), cohors iii Bracarorum (CIL 16.69, AD 122) and cohors i Afrorum (CIL 16.69, AD 122) can be ruled out on palaeographical grounds. The traces would just accommodate T]ungrorum and cohors i and cohors ii Tungrorum (see above, pp.22-3 and Smeesters (1977), 180-1) and ala i Tungrorum are attested in Britain. alae i would not fill the space at the start of the line; neither would coh i or ii but cohortis written in full would be suitable (the word is normally, but not always, abbreviated, see [311].back 2, [318].3). The context makes it clear that Vocusius Africanus is not at Vindolanda, but this does not rule out a reference to the First Cohort of Tungrians since the unit could have been elsewhere when this letter was written.