Author Archives: Brent Nongbri

Back When Single-quire Codices Were Strange

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Since the discovery and publication of the Nag Hammadi codices, the single-quire codex format has become very familiar to papyrologists and historians of the book. It’s interesting, however, to recall that there was a time when the idea of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Book binding, Codices, Codicology, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 2 Comments

Hugo Ibscher Trading Cards

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

When I was a kid, I enjoyed collecting sports cards. In those days (early 1980s), the cards came in wax-paper wrappers with a flat rectangular piece of so-called “chewing gum” that was so stale and hardened that it would shatter … Continue reading →

Posted in Codicology, Mummy cartonnage | 6 Comments

Further Revelations from Sampson’s Article: The Sappho Papyrus and the German Officer

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In a previous post on C. Michael Sampson’s article in the most recent issue of the Bulletin of the American Association of Papyrologists, I mentioned that Sampson’s essay contained a number of interesting but somewhat complicated revelations about questions surrounding … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Find Stories, Mummy cartonnage, P.Sapph. Obbink | 3 Comments

More on Dirk Obbink and the Provenance of the Sappho Papyrus

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

The latest issue of the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists was just published. It contains an article by C. Michael Sampson, “Deconstructing the Provenances of P.Sapph.Obbink.” The article brings a load of new evidence to bear on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink, Passages Speakers Series, Scott Carroll | 6 Comments

The Trojan Horse in Pakistan and Questions of Provenance

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In the process of preparing to teach a course on ancient trade networks, I encountered a very informative chapter by Rachel Mairs in The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization (2017), which introduced me to a fascinating artifact of which … Continue reading →

Posted in British Museum, Find Stories, Sculpture | Leave a comment

BnF Copte 135E and Codex Construction

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

After a recent conversation about early Coptic codices with Alin Suciu, I spent some time with the several distinct manuscripts catalogued under the designation “Copte 135” at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the so-called Akhmim Papyri. There are some really … Continue reading →

Posted in Book binding, Codices, Codicology | Leave a comment

A New Article on P52 in New Testament Studies

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

The latest issue of New Testament Studies contains an article I wrote on P.Ryl. 3.457, a.k.a. P52, the fragmentary leaf from a codex generally regarded as the earliest surviving copy of the Gospel According to John (and indeed earliest surviving … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Bernard Grenfell, Colin H. Roberts, Eric Turner, New Testament, P.Ryl. 3.457, Palaeography, Rylands Papyri | 3 Comments

Mr. Spock and Qumran

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Thanks to Stephen Goranson for drawing my attention to an episode of the television show “In Search of…” that aired on 9 February 1978. The topic of this episode, narrated by Leonard Nimoy, was the Dead Sea Scrolls. The content … Continue reading →

Posted in Dead Sea Scrolls | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Two Unheralded Excavators of Cave 1 at Qumran: Ibrahim Asuli and Mohamed Mustafa

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In spare moments, I continue to work on the manuscripts generally associated with Cave 1 at Qumran. I’ve become very interested in the photographs of the excavations of Cave 1. Both Gerald Lankester Harding and Ovid R. Sellers took pictures … Continue reading →

Posted in Dead Sea Scrolls | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A New Radiocarbon Calibration Curve and Early Christian Manuscripts

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

I gave a talk on early Coptic books a few weeks ago in which I mentioned the results of some radiocarbon analyses of Coptic codices. Now I learn that some of what I said is already out of date! A … Continue reading →

Posted in Glazier Codex, Radiocarbon analysis | 7 Comments