This third to fourth-century document is a deed for the sale of a piece of land in exchange for a carpet. The turn of phrase used for this transaction, where the two parties 'gift' their property to one another, illustrates the persistence of old forms of reciprocity within the Silk Road market economy. In fact, the use of textiles as currency, even when the actual cash value of the carpet is explicitly stated as in this document, is one of the salient features of that global market economy. The document is written in Gāndhārī language in the Kharoṣṭhī script used in third to fourth-century Kroraina.
Ink on wood
The British Library,
Or.8211/1494 (N.xv.ii.a)