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Author Archives: Brent Nongbri
Another Question About Those Possible Stands for Holding Open Papyrus Rolls
In a post back in 2021, I highlighted some interesting artifacts discussed in a 2001 article by Susan Wood. It’s a fascinating piece that focuses on two decorated ivory plaques with curious sets of holes found at Pompeii. The image … Continue reading
A Figurine of Venus Found in an Ancient Synagogue
The ancient synagogue in Rome’s port city of Ostia was uncovered by accident in the early 1960s during the construction of a highway between Rome and the newly built international airport in Fiumicino. The discovery of a Roman-era synagogue was … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeological context, Judaism, Ostia, Synagogues
Tagged ancient-judaism, archaeology, diaspora-judaism, history, Ostia, Ostia synagogue, Roman religion, Rome, Second temple Judaism, synagogue
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The Forma Urbis: A New Museum in Rome
A disclaimer: I’m fan of maps in general and of the Severan marble map of Rome in particular (I’ve mentioned it before on the blog). So it may be no surprise that I am very enthusiastic about the new museum … Continue reading
Posted in Inscriptions, Museums
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The Potential Early Papyrus Codex at Graz
Back in June 2023, several news outlets picked up the story of “the Graz mummy book.” A team at the University of Graz led by Theresa Zammit Lupi had identified P.Hib. 113, a papyrus extracted from mummy cartonnage and published … Continue reading
Posted in Book binding, Codices, Codicology, Ink, Mummy cartonnage, P.Hib. 113
Tagged archaeology, Book History, bookbinding, books, cartonnage, egypt, history, mummy, papyrus
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Storing Scrolls
I have papyrus rolls on my mind right now, but I’m also interested in parchment rolls. I’ve been reading an excellent new book by Bruce Holsinger, On Parchment: Animals, Archives, and the Making of Culture from Herodotus to the Digital … Continue reading
Posted in Voluminology
Tagged Book History, papyrus-rolls, parchment, Roman history, scrolls
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Manufacturing a Papyrus Roll
Over the years, I’ve had many occasions to talk about the manufacture of papyrus rolls. I typically describe them as fairly simple artifacts–several individual sheets of papyrus pasted together to form a roll. And a papyrus roll is relatively simple … Continue reading
Posted in Book Trade in Antiquity, Papyrus Making, Voluminology
Tagged ancient-egypt, books, egypt, papyrus, papyrus-rolls
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Radiocarbon Analysis of Museum of the Bible Manuscripts: Bodmer Psalms
Thanks to Mike Holmes for informing me that the most recent issue of Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik contains an article reporting the results of radiocarbon analysis of five papyrus manuscripts and one parchment manuscript that took place about a … Continue reading
The Color(s) of Papyrus and Pliny’s Instructions
A few months ago, I observed that two stalks of papyrus from the same plant could produce quite different colored sheets of papyrus. I’ve also noticed that the same stalk of papyrus can produce strips that, although they look the … Continue reading
The Robinson Papyri, and the Mississippi Papyri, and William H. Willis
Several years ago, I tried to sort out some of the confusion that surrounds the so-called Robinson Papyri, a collection of papyrus manuscripts accumulated by the archaeologist David M. Robinson (1880-1958) and eventually inherited by the classicist William H. Willis … Continue reading
P.Oxy. 87.5575 and P.Oxy. 60.4009: The Same Copyist
The editors of P.Oxy. 87.5575, the recently published papyrus fragment with a collection of sayings of Jesus, stated that P.Oxy. 60.4009, another papyrus with material about Jesus, “may well be in the same hand, though the loops in that papyrus … Continue reading
Posted in Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Palaeography
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Variant Readings 