These letters were inscribed on a folded lead tablet. The text was published in 2019 with an English commentary by A. Bekhter, M. Dana & A.M. Butyagin, "Opisthographic Lead Letter from Myrmekion" ( PDF ); their translation is shown here.
Several other Greek private letters have been found at sites near the northern coast of the Black Sea; see for instance SEG_59.834. For the use of lead in letter-writing, see M. Dana, "Connecting People: Mobility and Networks in the Corpus of Greek Private Letters", para. 1§5 ( CHS Research Bulletin ).
God! Fortune! Oreos sends his greetings to Pythokles. . . . happened to me on my neck . . ., but already . . . Send me a himation for my personal use, and above all send me two Ionian himatia for sale. There is also a slave, namely the young boy Charion, to take; send OPONTIN (?) as well as two or three purple clothes and give them to Diodoros the helmsman. Farewell.
Dispatch the following letter for me.
Oreos sends his greetings to Kerkion. On the ship . . . you will have space for salted fish. Oreos sends his greetings to Saicho.inē (?).
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