Recent Comments
Author Archives: Brent Nongbri
A New Article on P.Oxy. 7.1008 and 7.1009 (P15 and P16)
The latest issue of Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft contains an article I wrote on two papyrus folia from Oxyrhynchus. Here is the abstract: P.Oxy. 7.1008 and 7.1009 (P15 and P16 in the INTF’s Kurzgefasste Liste) preserve portions of 1 … Continue reading
An Illustrated Papyrus in Florence
I’ve long been intrigued by a famous illustrated papyrus. You may have seen it on the cover of Lincoln Blumell and Thomas Wayment’s book, Christian Oxyrhynchus: Texts, Documents, and Sources (2015): The front matter in the book identifies the illustration … Continue reading
Posted in Illustrated Papyri
Tagged early-christian-art, Illustrated Papyri, images-of-jesus, Jesus, oxyrhynchus, papyrus, stilling-of-the-storm
5 Comments
Conservation of a Papyrus Roll with No Glass Frames
Some of the real workhorses of both my teaching and public presentations over the years have been a group of papyrus rolls in Berlin. They are a set of Greek documentary rolls from the second half of the second century … Continue reading
Posted in Voluminology
Tagged book-conservation, papyrology, papyrus, papyrus-rolls, scrolls
Leave a comment
The Provenance and Date of the Berlin Cretans
One of the reference points that used to come up very frequently in discussions of the earliest codices was a manuscript of Euripides–the Berlin Cretans, an isolated parchment folium that was published in 1907 as BKT V.2 XVII (P.Berol. inv. … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeological context, Berlin Cretans, Codices, Codicology, Palaeography
Tagged archaeology, books, manuscripts, Palaeography, papyrology
Leave a comment
An Early Latin Codex with a Clear Date of Production
One of the frustrating things about working with the earliest codices and codex fragments is the lack of securely dated examples. Palaeography can give a general range, and archaeological context or reuse can sometimes give us a decent terminus ante … Continue reading
Posted in B-R Uncial, Codicology, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Palaeography
Tagged Codicology, oxyrhynchus, Palaeography, papyri
2 Comments
Reusing Pages of Books
Parts of ancient books were recycled in a variety of different ways, but I don’t recall having seen anything quite like this before. It’s a portion of a parchment folium from a codex that contained some works of Demosthenes (P.Amh. … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Majuscule, Reuse of manuscripts
3 Comments
The Reuse of a Sarcophagus with a Menorah
Another very interesting item in the epigraphic collection at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome is a portion of a sarcophagus that contains a nice depiction of a menorah. It is typically assigned to the third or fourth century CE, … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Kircheriano, Museums, Raffaele Garrucci
Tagged ancient-judaism, jewish-art, Judaism, menorah, Rome
1 Comment
Inscriptions of a Doctor and Historian
During a recent visit to the Museo Nazionale at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, my attention was caught by a funerary urn made from a type of stone with very interesting patterns [[Update 27 Feb. 2026: I am informed … Continue reading
Posted in Baths of Diocletian, Inscriptions
Tagged Sideropogon, Tiberius Claudius Herma, Tiberius Claudius Melito
2 Comments
The Recette de Saint-Remi and the Layout of an Early Greek Parchment Codex
As 2025 comes to a close, one last article is coming out: “Mise-en-page Between Roman Egypt and Medieval Europe: The Recette de Saint-Remi and the Layout of an Early Greek Parchment Codex (P.Ant. 1 27),” Fragmentology 8 (2025), 155-169. This … Continue reading
Augustine in the Cairo Genizah
Thinking about the letters of Augustine reminds me of one of the more interesting manuscripts I encountered this year. Among the many remarkable manuscripts in the Cairo Genizah is Cambridge University Library ADD.4320. It’s a collection of fragments of a … Continue reading
Posted in Cairo Genizah, Palimpsests, Reuse of manuscripts
Tagged Augustine, Cairo Genizah, Palimpsests
1 Comment
Variant Readings 