Category Archives: Oxyrhynchus Papyri

New Article on Dirk Obbink in The Atlantic

Posted on May 13, 2020 by

Ariel Sabar has published a fascinating account of the saga of Professor Dirk Obbink and the Green Collection in The Atlantic. I encourage everyone to check out the whole story here. For me, the most interesting new details have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Romans, Green Collection Sappho, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 15 Comments

An Update on the Case of the Stolen Oxyrhynchus Papyri

Posted on April 16, 2020 by

H/T Roberta Mazza: According to this article in The Oxford Blue, “Christ Church professor Dirk Obbink was arrested on 2nd March 2020 for alleged theft of ancient papyrus from the Sackler Classics Library in Oxford.” Further on, the article quotes … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 10 Comments

Recap of the SBL “First Century Mark” Session

Posted on November 26, 2019 by

A few days ago, I was fortunate to be a part of the a session dedicated to a “postmortem” on so-called “First Century Mark” at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Diego. Below is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, First Century Mark, Mummy cartonnage, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 35 Comments

The Coptic Material from Oxyrhynchus

Posted on November 18, 2019 by

Several people have asked me why there are no Coptic pieces on the list of recently emerged papyri of dubious origins. I put that list online in the hopes of identifying more material that may have been stolen from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dirk Obbink, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 3 Comments

News: Egypt Exploration Society Missing At Least 120 Papyri

Posted on November 18, 2019 by

I missed this news from a couple days ago. The Egypt Exploration Society has announced that they are missing at least 120 papyri from the Oxyrhynchus collection. Read the full announcement here.

Posted in Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 6 Comments

Dirk Obbink Discusses Oxyrhynchus “Distribution” Papyri

Posted on October 25, 2019 by

Although Professor Dirk Obbink has issued an emphatic denial of accusations that he illegally stole and sold papyri from the Egypt Exploration Society, he has not (to the best of my knowledge) denied that he (legally) bought and sold so-called … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 2 Comments

A Couple More Manuscripts of Questionable Origins

Posted on October 23, 2019 by

I’ve added a couple more pieces to the list of manuscripts of dubious origins. These are more pieces that have shown up in Scott Carroll’s talks in recent years, and both of these items may also be connected to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 4 Comments

More News on Stolen Papyri from the Egypt Exploration Society

Posted on October 21, 2019 by

The Egypt Exploration Society has posted an update to last week’s announcement regarding papyri stolen from the EES and allegedly sold to Hobby Lobby by Professor Dirk Obbink. The updates discuss the EES manuscripts that have made their way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dirk Obbink, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 3 Comments

A Statement from Dirk Obbink

Posted on October 20, 2019 by

Professor Dirk Obbink has issued a public statement emphatically denying the accusations that he sold Oxyrhynchus papyri to Hobby Lobby. The local Texas newspaper to which Prof. Obbink chose to communicate his statement (the Waco Tribune-Herald) is not available online … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 19 Comments

How Much Material from Oxyrhynchus Remains Unpublished?

Posted on October 20, 2019 by

The recent discussions surrounding the theft of 13 unpublished Oxyrhynchus papyri from the Egypt Exploration Society raises the question of just how much material that was excavated from Oxyrhynchus still remains unpublished. Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt led excavations at … Continue reading →

Posted in Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 6 Comments