The papyri of the 1931 Tebtunis campaign in Florence: from the field to the Istituto Vitelli (and everything in between)

The chapter offers an in-depth overview of the historical and procedural contexts culminating in the papyri from the 1931 Tebtunis excavation campaign being deposited in the Istituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli” and, in some cases, in the Museo Egizio in Florence. These complexities are elucidated through newly available materials and recently published letters exchanged among the involved parties – primarily G. Vitelli, C. Anti, M. Norsa, and E. Breccia – alongside previously edited correspondence. By presenting this documentation sequentially and reviewing it as a cohesive unit, the paper seeks to provide a more comprehensive reconstruction of the agreements, permit transfers, political and academical arrangements and logistics that brought the papyri to Florence. Particular attention is given to the lifelong work of G. Botti on the Hieratic and Demotic papyri, tracing the motivations that led to the incorporation of selected items from Tebtunis, particularly from the so-called “temple library deposit”, into the Florentine Museo Egizio’s inventory. The chapter concludes with a reference table documenting all Tebtunis papyri from the 1928 to 1931 excavations held in the Museo’s collection.