DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61277#0144
116
ACCOUNT OF
(for it is, from various causes, evident, that the
place where the men are now digging was never
covered with buildings, but was in the middle of
a garden), a large quantity of rolls of papyri have
been discovered; they are, generally speaking,
about half a palm in length, and bear more re-
semblance to rolls of tobacco, or to sticks of w’ood
burnt to a cinder, than to any thing else. They
are all black, or of a dark colour, and each
appears to consist of one piece only. The disco-
verer was at first at a loss to know what they were;
but on one of them being accidentally broken in
the middle, many letters were observed, and the
rolls were immediately said to be rolls of papyri.
The number of these rolls were, as I am told,
about one hundred and fifty, of different sizes.*
They were arranged in large cases, which are so
much burnt, as indeed are all the things made of
wood, that they cannot be recovered. The rolls,
however, are hard, and each appears like one
piece. The utmost exertions were taken to unrol
and read them, though all attempts seemed, for a
long time, likely to prove unsuccessful. In this
* It must be remembered, that this letter was written shortly
after the first discovery of the manuscripts. When farther exca-
vations had taken place, the number amounted to more than one
thousand seven hundred.
ACCOUNT OF
(for it is, from various causes, evident, that the
place where the men are now digging was never
covered with buildings, but was in the middle of
a garden), a large quantity of rolls of papyri have
been discovered; they are, generally speaking,
about half a palm in length, and bear more re-
semblance to rolls of tobacco, or to sticks of w’ood
burnt to a cinder, than to any thing else. They
are all black, or of a dark colour, and each
appears to consist of one piece only. The disco-
verer was at first at a loss to know what they were;
but on one of them being accidentally broken in
the middle, many letters were observed, and the
rolls were immediately said to be rolls of papyri.
The number of these rolls were, as I am told,
about one hundred and fifty, of different sizes.*
They were arranged in large cases, which are so
much burnt, as indeed are all the things made of
wood, that they cannot be recovered. The rolls,
however, are hard, and each appears like one
piece. The utmost exertions were taken to unrol
and read them, though all attempts seemed, for a
long time, likely to prove unsuccessful. In this
* It must be remembered, that this letter was written shortly
after the first discovery of the manuscripts. When farther exca-
vations had taken place, the number amounted to more than one
thousand seven hundred.