Thursday, January 30, 2025

More on that fraud-trial papyrus

UPDATE: Manuscript P.Cotton (background here) has been getting a lot of attention in the media. I have found two more articles worth flagging.

Explosive Legal Document Exposes Corruption and Conspiracy in Roman Era Judea (Ancient Origins). An English translation of the full text of the (linked) Hebrew IAA press release.

Fraud, forgery and sedition: 1,900-year-old papyrus records Roman trial against Jews. New research on the longest Greek papyrus from the Judean Desert ever discovered offers unprecedented insights into life in the Land of Israel in Bar Kochba era (ROSSELLA TERCATIN, Times of Israel). In addition to coverage of the press release, this article interviews Dr. Anna Dolganov, one of the editors of the manuscript.

UPDATE (31 January): Another:

Ancient Papyrus Found in Desert Describes Roman Case Against Jewish Crooks. Almost 2,000 years ago in Judea or maybe Arabia, two men allegedly sold a slave and didn't pay taxes to Rome. The papyrus makes the case against them (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz). Noted for its useful summary of the text.

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