Tag Archives: archaeology

The Sale of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex and its Cost Over Time

The auction of several items from the collection of Martin Schøyen took place yesterday in London. The highlight of the sale was the so-called Crosby-Schøyen codex, which sold for just over the high end of the estimated price range at … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Schøyen Collection | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Cover of Nag Hammadi Codex I for Sale (with a Bowl)

After being down for several days due to a cyber attack, the Christie’s website appears to be back up and running. A more detailed description of the items being auctioned from the Schøyen Collection is now available. Among them is … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Book covers, Find Stories | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Posted in Voluminology | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Dead Sea Scrolls Photo Shoot from the 1950s

Among the PAM negatives of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is a short sequence of photos that puzzled me when I encountered them last year. The photos occur in a sequence taken in June 1956, PAM 42.139-141. They are described … Continue reading

Posted in Dead Sea Scrolls, Khalil Eskander Shahin (Kando) | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

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

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

Qumran Cave 1 Questions, Part 3: Is Cave 1 Really Cave 1?

This is the third in a series of questions relating to the source of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls to appear on the market in 1947. The first post dealt with the Genesis Apocryphon, and the second with the … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Archaeological context, Dead Sea Scrolls, Find Stories | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments