Observations sur la série Of de Thèbes

Maurizio Del Freo & Françoise Rougemont Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 54 (2012) [2014], 263-280

Abstract

The Thebes tablets of the Of series record allocations of wool, aimed at different purposes, including the production and finishing of textiles. This paper studies the individuals involved in the textile manufacture, the production structures and the mechanisms underlying the distribution of wool. In particular, it is argued that, in addition to the female workgroups who were dependent on an authority (king, palace, sanctuaries, “collectors”), there were also independent production units, probably organized on a family scale and located in or near the city of Thebes (PN + do-de, dilative case of do ‘house’). The bureaucratic formulae of the Of series are also analyzed in order to reconstruct a possible scenario for the distribution of wool as well as to identify the individuals responsible of the withdrawals from the palace storerooms.