papyrus

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Recently Discovered Papyrus Details a 5-Year-Old Jesus

It's a brief, 'clumsy' letter, but researchers say it's oldest known copy of gospel about Jesus as a child

(Newser) - Experts in ancient documents have discovered the oldest known copy of a gospel detailing Jesus' childhood, text originally written some 200 years after his death. The manuscript itself, a passage from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which lies outside the accepted canon of Scripture, is dated to the fourth or...

Charred Scroll Tells Lost Secrets of Plato

Advanced techniques help to virtually unwrap papyrus scroll buried by Mount Vesuvius

(Newser) - Read for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, an ancient papyrus scroll buried in ash after the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius describes the final hours and burial place of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It's an "extraordinary outcome that enriches our understanding of ancient history,...

We Have Our First Clue From 2K-Year-Old Vesuvius Scroll

Luke Farritor of University of Nebraska-Lincoln nabs Vesuvius Challenge's 'first letters' prize

(Newser) - Artificial intelligence and two students half a world apart have deciphered the first word from ancient scrolls that were turned to charcoal and buried for nearly 2,000 years following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Discovered in the 18th century in a luxury villa in Herculaneum, the carbonized...

In Egypt, an 'Increasingly Rare' Find

First complete papyrus to be found in a century will be displayed at Cairo's new museum

(Newser) - From one of 250 wooden sarcophagi uncovered last year at Egypt's famed necropolis of Saqqara comes the first complete papyrus scroll discovered in a century. And it's a long one. The scroll containing sections of the Book of the Dead stretches 52 feet long, per Live Science . The...

'Jesus Wife' Tale Takes a Turn for the Bizarre
'Jesus Wife' Tale Takes
a Turn for the Bizarre
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Jun 25, 2016 3:50 PM CDT

'Jesus Wife' Tale Takes a Turn for the Bizarre

Harvard prof backtracks after learning of shady pornographer's central role

(Newser) - The question of whether Jesus was married became a hot topic in academic circles when a papyrus fragment surfaced in which he's quoted as talking about his wife. A Harvard professor was convinced enough to present an academic paper on the subject, though skeptics abounded about the fragment's...

Rare Christian Papyrus Was Put on eBay for $99

Scholars jump at the chance to study the fragment

(Newser) - You never know what you'll find on eBay—like a rare New Testament papyrus fragment dating to around AD300. Opening bid? Just $99. "I thought, this can't be allowed to sell on eBay," Christianity scholar Geoffrey Smith tells the New York Times of the January listing....

'Gospel of Jesus' Wife' Gets Even More Cryptic

Previous owner would've risked all to get it from East Germany

(Newser) - There are two camps when it comes to the so-called Gospel of Jesus' Wife : one that believes the Coptic fragment is the real deal, and one that's convinced it's a fake. There's evidence to back up either side: Radiocarbon dating indicates the papyrus dates to AD800, and...

'Gospel of Jesus' Wife' Mystery Has New Twist

The answer may lie in the ink

(Newser) - Since Harvard University professor Karen King first reported in 2012 her discovery of what appears to be an ancient papyrus in which Jesus is suggested to have a wife, the authenticity of the so-called "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" has been the subject of much claim and counterclaim . Even the...

'Oldest Known Gospel' Found in Mummy Mask

Researchers say Mark fragment pre-dates 90AD

(Newser) - Ancients apparently used various papyrus documents to create mummy masks—including what may be the earliest known fragment of a New Testament gospel, LiveScience reports. Confirming information that leaked in 2012, professor Craig Evans says he's among the researchers who peeled apart the glued layers of a mummy mask...

'Last Supper' Papyrus Sheds Light on Early Christians

Small document was likely used as protective charm

(Newser) - Who scrawls Biblical passages on the back of a tax receipt and wears it as a protective amulet? Someone in Egypt about 1,500 years ago, LiveScience reports. Researchers stumbled on the ancient papyrus, which is written in Greek and dated between 574 and 660, when looking through a British...

Jesus' 'Wife' Papyrus Faces Growing Doubt

Alleged former owner had no interest in antiquities: insiders

(Newser) - A papyrus suggesting Jesus had a wife has sparked continuing controversy since it was announced in 2012 in the Harvard Theological Review. Now, Live Science explains that the evidence against the authenticity of the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" is mounting. Among the site's findings and observations:
  • The supposed
...

Papyrus Mentioning Jesus' Wife Not a Fake, But...

...that doesn't mean Jesus had a wife

(Newser) - To call it controversial is putting it mildly: Harvard professor Karen L. King in September 2012 debuted an ancient papyrus now known as the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" at a conference in Rome. The papyrus makes an explicit reference to the woman's existence with the line, "Jesus...

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