In 1920 B.P. grenfell purchased in egypt a considerable group of papyri on behalf of the John Rylands Library of Manchester. the future PRyl III 490, coming probably from Fayyum, was also part of this lot. the text on this scrap was written in a clear book hand in the first half of the 3rd century BC and preserves a large fragment from a historical narrative that may be the epitome of a more extensive work, now lost. the events mentioned in this text relate to the last years of the reign of Philip II and cover approximately a two-year period between 339 and 337 BC. though the source of the epitome in PRyl III 490 cannot be identified with any certainty, this was probably a work of universal history focusing on the life and deeds of Philip II.
