Category Archives: Manuscript Collections

Qumran Cave 1 Questions, Part 1: The Genesis Apocryphon Roll

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

One of the many events called off in the general shut down of activities last month was a meeting at the University of Agder associated with The Lying Pen of Scribes project, On the Origin of the Pieces: The Provenance … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Archaeological context, Dead Sea Scrolls, Find Stories | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Statement on the So-Called Dead Sea Scrolls of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

A couple days ago, Christianity Today reported that Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is closing what it calls “the nation’s leading evangelical archaeology program.” At the same time, the Seminary itself issued a statement explaining the shuttering of the program, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Dead Sea Scrolls, Fakes and Forgeries, William Kando | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Hobby Lobby and Penance: Some Observations and Suggestions

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

As I noted on Friday, Steve Green, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible, announced that the museum would be repatriating some 11,500 artifacts that were acquired with “insufficient provenance.” I’ve taken some … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Scott Carroll | 4 Comments

A Statement from Steve Green on Hobby Lobby Acquisitions

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Thanks to Mike Holmes for letting me know about this announcement from Steve Green: “Today, I am announcing that we have identified approximately 5,000 papyri fragments and 6,500 clay objects with insufficient provenance that we are working to deliver to … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Green Collection | 4 Comments

Fake Dead Sea Scrolls and the People Who Sell Them: One Fragment’s Story

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Two posts in recent days prompt me to wonder about the cast of characters involved in the marketing of the “post-2002 Dead Sea Scrolls like fragments” that most of the guild now regards as forgeries (though respected Dead Sea Scrolls … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dead Sea Scrolls, Fakes and Forgeries, Green Collection, Lee Biondi, Schøyen Collection | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A Missing “Robinson Papyrus” Found?

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

[Update 22 November 2023: The data here is now superseded by the information gathered in Daniel B. Sharp, “The Provenance of the Robinson and Mississippi Papyri,” Archiv für Papyrusforschung 69 (2023) 162-192.] A few years ago, I started looking into … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, P.Sapph. Obbink, Robinson Papyri | 1 Comment

Report: All the “Dead Sea Scrolls” at the Museum of the Bible Are Fakes

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In an article posted online earlier today, National Geographic reported something that is not that surprising to many of us who have been following this story: All 16 of the so-called “Dead Sea Scrolls” owned by the Museum of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Bruce Ferrini, Dead Sea Scrolls, Fakes and Forgeries, Green Collection | 9 Comments

Dirk Obbink and the Hobby Lobby Sappho Fragments

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In yet another fascinating video unearthed by David Bradnick, “Seeking Sappho,” we see Oxford Professor Dirk Obbink at work on the Hobby Lobby (Green Collection) Sappho fragments: There are several strange features of this video. First, some of the footage … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink | 14 Comments

More Mummy and Cartonnage Material in the Green Collection

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Courtesy of David Bradnick, here are a few more examples of mummy masks and other cartonnage associated with the Green Collection (I have been keeping a record of mummy masks in the Green Collection here). I note that the two … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Mummies, Mummy cartonnage | 6 Comments

More on Sappho, Romans, and the Baylor “Mummy Mask” Extraction

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In my last post on the new information regarding the origin of Hobby Lobby’s Sappho papyrus fragments, I noted some parallels with the claimed mummy mask origins of a papyrus fragment of Paul’s letter to the Romans (now known to … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Green Collection, Green Collection Romans, Green Collection Sappho, Mummy cartonnage, Scott Carroll | 7 Comments