DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17#0091
DISCOVERIES OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS
FROM
HAWARA NECROPOLIS.
(From a Coffin.)
C.R.I-CO-ROMAN PORTRAIT
FROM
HAWARA NECROPOLIS.
[From a Coßn.)
old, each one of which had
the fragments of the portraits
still adhering. The yard was
full of the coffins and remains
of the mummies, which, be-
ing preserved in pitch or
bitumen, formed good stok-
ing material. Some of the
coffins, Dr. Pétrie found,
were made of "cartonnage,"
or papier mâché, of old docu-
ments. These proved to be
ancient papyri pasted to-
gether into a sort of card-
board, and among them,
when carefully separated,
were found many Greek
manuscripts, and especially one treasure, the earliest manuscript of Plato yet
known to exist. But recently more wonderful documents turned up. It was
in the Fayum neighbourhood (at the old Greek town of Oxyrhynchus) that
Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt, agents for the Egypt Exploration Fund, recently
discovered an immense mass of papyrus documents {filling sixty or seventy
boxes), among which fragments of the lost works of classic poets were discovered
two years ago. These manuscripts were found in the rubbish heaps of the forgotten
town. The dry, sandy desert had buried the place but preserved the documents,
as is only possible in a rainless country. They are now mostly in England, but
will take several years to arrange and translate. Two pages of " Sayings of
Christ," possibly part of a gospel not yet fully identified, were found. Upwards
of 1,500 papyri have been discovered, and the few examined already have
yielded remarkable results—a page of St. Matthew's Gospel earlier by 200 years
than any other MS. of the New Testament, a poem of Sappho, fragments of
Homer, Herodotus, Xenophon, Sophocles, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Plato,
Aristotle, Euclid, Virgil, and others. It is the most wonderful collection of
ancient MSS. ever found in modern times. Many of them have already helped
to explain existing texts, and others give entirely new readings. A volume of
fac-similes and translations has just been issued by the Egypt Exploration Fund,
but it is impossible to tell what literary treasures may yet remain to be dis-
covered as the work of decipherment proceeds. Anyone subscribing about £j
a year can obtain these publications from the Fund.
FROM
HAWARA NECROPOLIS.
(From a Coffin.)
C.R.I-CO-ROMAN PORTRAIT
FROM
HAWARA NECROPOLIS.
[From a Coßn.)
old, each one of which had
the fragments of the portraits
still adhering. The yard was
full of the coffins and remains
of the mummies, which, be-
ing preserved in pitch or
bitumen, formed good stok-
ing material. Some of the
coffins, Dr. Pétrie found,
were made of "cartonnage,"
or papier mâché, of old docu-
ments. These proved to be
ancient papyri pasted to-
gether into a sort of card-
board, and among them,
when carefully separated,
were found many Greek
manuscripts, and especially one treasure, the earliest manuscript of Plato yet
known to exist. But recently more wonderful documents turned up. It was
in the Fayum neighbourhood (at the old Greek town of Oxyrhynchus) that
Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt, agents for the Egypt Exploration Fund, recently
discovered an immense mass of papyrus documents {filling sixty or seventy
boxes), among which fragments of the lost works of classic poets were discovered
two years ago. These manuscripts were found in the rubbish heaps of the forgotten
town. The dry, sandy desert had buried the place but preserved the documents,
as is only possible in a rainless country. They are now mostly in England, but
will take several years to arrange and translate. Two pages of " Sayings of
Christ," possibly part of a gospel not yet fully identified, were found. Upwards
of 1,500 papyri have been discovered, and the few examined already have
yielded remarkable results—a page of St. Matthew's Gospel earlier by 200 years
than any other MS. of the New Testament, a poem of Sappho, fragments of
Homer, Herodotus, Xenophon, Sophocles, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Plato,
Aristotle, Euclid, Virgil, and others. It is the most wonderful collection of
ancient MSS. ever found in modern times. Many of them have already helped
to explain existing texts, and others give entirely new readings. A volume of
fac-similes and translations has just been issued by the Egypt Exploration Fund,
but it is impossible to tell what literary treasures may yet remain to be dis-
covered as the work of decipherment proceeds. Anyone subscribing about £j
a year can obtain these publications from the Fund.