The proportion of land in each province confiscated by the Romans after conquest is unknown. But there are a few clues. Egypt is by far the best-documented province due to the survival of papyri in the dry conditions. There, it appears that probably a third of land was "ager publicus". From the evidence available one can conclude that, between imperial estates, land assigned to "coloniae", and land sold to Roman private landowners, a province's "peregrini" may have lost ownership of over half their land as a result of the Roman conquest. Roman colonists would routinely help themselves to the best land.