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Author Archives: Brent Nongbri
Is “Papyrus (Roll) Maker” (chartopoios) an Ancient Word?
In literature about the process of papyrus production in antiquity, the word χαρτοποιός (“papyrus maker” or “papyrus roll manufacturer”) comes up with some frequency. What’s odd is that its role in the discussion is out of proportion to its attestation. … Continue reading
Posted in Papyrus Making
5 Comments
Snowy White Papyrus
I’ve been experimenting with making my own papyrus and discovering that there are lots of variables to control in order to make good quality writing material. One thing that especially surprised me has to do with the color of papyrus. … Continue reading
Posted in Papyrus Making, Voluminology
2 Comments
What Do We Mean By “Codex”?
P.Hib. 113, the papyrus kept at Graz that has recently been proposed as being the earliest surviving remains of a codex, continues to be in the news. I made a brief post about it some days ago, and in the … Continue reading
Posted in Codices, Codicology, P.Hib. 113, Tablets
11 Comments
The Oldest Codex?
News reports coming out of Graz today suggest that a papyrus in the collection of the University of Graz may be the earliest surviving specimen of a bound book with pages, possibly as early as the third century BCE. It … Continue reading
Posted in Codices, Codicology, P.Hib. 113
7 Comments
A Book of Psalms and a Missing Page Number
As part of the EthiCodex project, our team has been revisiting the often fragmentary remains of early codices. Thankfully, many collections have made digital images of their materials widely available. But sometimes it is also necessary to see things in … Continue reading
Posted in Antiquities Market, Bernard Grenfell, Codices, Codicology, Michigan Papyri
3 Comments
The Helgö Buddha
The news of the excavation of a small statue of the Buddha in Egypt is very exciting. But at least one of the claims about this statue doesn’t seem quite right. I have in mind this statement in The Smithsonian: … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeological context, Buddha
4 Comments
Ancient Jewish Fish Sauce?
When I visit museums, I always keep an eye out for ancient Jewish and Christian artifacts. I recently (may have) encountered one that I had overlooked on previous visits to the British Museum. The museum holds a coarse ware jar … Continue reading
Posted in British Museum, Judaism
1 Comment
Radiocarbon Analysis of Papyrus and Parchment Manuscripts: A List
It occurs to me that it would be useful to have (as complete as possible) a list of papyrus and parchment manuscripts that have been subjected to radiocarbon analysis. I have tried to arrange this list chronologically by the date … Continue reading
Buying Papyrus in Roman Antiquity
I recently came across the reference in Theodor Birt that reminded me of an old problem. After a description of the production of papyrus sheets, Birt states that “the resulting sheets were sold individually (Die so entstandenen Blätter kamen einzeln … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient letters, Book Trade in Antiquity, Codices
4 Comments
More Digital Images of Papyri at the Bodleian Online
A couple years ago, I noted that the Bodleian Library at Oxford had put digital images of several early Christian manuscripts online. Now they have uploaded images of many more manuscripts, and there are several old favorites among them. The … Continue reading
Variant Readings 