Papyri decoded

[CBR]

Well its definitely great news. I wonder if some of Polybius' lost works are in there too..


CBR

[Quietus]

"The Oxyrhynchus collection is of unparalleled importance - especially now that it can be read fully and relatively quickly," said the Oxford academic directing the research, Dr Dirk Obbink. "The material will shed light on virtually every aspect of life in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, and, by extension, in the classical world as a whole."

Very nice insight to the past (no pun intended. )

[Pindar]

I've been following this for some time. The BYU team is from my undergraduate alma mater.

[Gregoshi]

I love this kind of stuff. Five million words...

[Browning]

Wow. Second Renaissance - a little exagerated.

But it will be nice to learn of the "events leading to the Troian War".

I just wonder what kind of moron threw these writtings into rubbish back then.

"Please Klemendra, calm down now, it's no use..."
"Calm down!? [a jar thrown against the wall] You are of no use! You do nothing but drink and write!"
"But writing is my job..."
"Job! [another jar] You have just lost one at the Aligator Temple! Even the blind priest Epakhochmenes sees that you are worthless!"
"Oh, why do I have to listen to this..."
"Prostatomes, where are you going? If you visit this [cenzored] Pulcheria once more, you will never see your library again, I warn you [this time a vase goes to Hades]!!!!"

[cunctator]

Excellent news indeed. I`ve found some links to Oxyrhynchus Papyri sites

http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/

http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/oxy.asp

http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/researc...cts/papyri.asp

[GoreBag]

This is good news, but the idea of a second Renaissance is both silly and singes the hairs on my backend. It is about time that the truth about Troy was revealed, though, and I can't wait to hear how this will help.

[Kraxis]

Well its definitely great news. I wonder if some of Polybius' lost works are in there too..


CBR

Most certainly not as it seems we are talking about poems and other 'popular' works. Polybius was mainly writing to a specific group, the military, and they would have their own dumps. This one seems to be very civil. But I hope just as much as you do. It would be great if the work on the phalanx is in there somewhere.

And pre-Troy, ohhh that would be really nice. Especially since it would most likely be in line with Homer, and even more importantly, with whatever historical basis Homer used.
I just hope they will do it quickly, so that I have something to write my candidature on.

[conon394]

Have a bit more hope Kraxis, after all the Oxyrhynchus Papyri are also the only source for the Oxyrhynchus Historian (very likely Kratippos of Athens). If the dump has his sober history of the early 4th century, why not other quality historians as well.

Even tragedy and comedy can be useful historical sources, the Persians by Aeschylus is as valuable as Herodotus when it comes to the battle of Salamis.

[Kraxis]

Have a bit more hope Kraxis, after all the Oxyrhynchus Papyri are also the only source for the Oxyrhynchus Historian (very likely Kratippos of Athens). If the dump has his sober history of the early 4th century, why not other quality historians as well.

Even tragedy and comedy can be useful historical sources, the Persians by Aeschylus is as valuable as Herodotus when it comes to the battle of Salamis.

It is not that I deny that works by historians could be in the pile, even in large numbers, but most of them are really 'only' a chronological eventline. Something even the most basic person could read (if he could read that is). Also something like that would have much more interest for the trader, the craftsman and the peasant. Polybius' works are to a geat extent something like manuals for the commander or the general at home. Thus it is unlikely that we would finds his works in the pile, as the general population would most likely never have heard of him.

And of course tragedies and comedies are of important value, if not for their direct historical content then for their indirect content (how people lived and acted, what they cared about what they hated, what they did in their sparetime ect ect).

I would love for them to find the great work on the phalanx by Polybius, I just think it is highly unlikely as it would be out of place there.

[Aurelian]

Highly, highly cool. I wonder if that infra-red technique could be applied to other fragmentary sources? I'm thinking in particular of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hamadi texts... but just think how many "worthless" pieces of papyrus might turn out to be little goldmines. It's a killer to think how much has been thrown away that might now be decipherable.

I used to play DBM with one of the Classics professors at U of M. Maybe the lucky bastard is getting to play with the new material.

[Pindar]

Highly, highly cool. I wonder if that infra-red technique could be applied to other fragmentary sources? I'm thinking in particular of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hamadi texts... but just think how many "worthless" pieces of papyrus might turn out to be little goldmines. It's a killer to think how much has been thrown away that might now be decipherable.

I used to play DBM with one of the Classics professors at U of M. Maybe the lucky bastard is getting to play with the new material.

The infra-red technique is used on the Dead Sea Scrolls. That is what it was originally being used for. There is also a certain crossover of team researchers between the projects.

[Adrian II]

The infra-red technique is used on the Dead Sea Scrolls. That is what it was originally being used for. There is also a certain crossover of team researchers between the projects.

I found it a bit suspicious that neither the Oxford Classics Department, nor the Ashmolean or Brigham Young seemed to make a big deal out of their 'sensational breakthough'. Indeed, some phone calls and scientific articles later I realised that the whole thing may not be as sensational as The Independent presented it, and that the infra-red method has been in use for quite some time. The fuss seems to have been inspired by recent improvements in the method.

[Pindar]

I found it a bit suspicious that neither the Oxford Classics Department, nor the Ashmolean or Brigham Young seemed to make a big deal out of their 'sensational breakthough'. Indeed, some phone calls and scientific articles later I realised that the whole thing may not be as sensational as The Independent presented it, and that the infra-red method has been in use for quite some time. The fuss seems to have been inspired by recent improvements in the method.

That doesn't surprised me. Even with the infra-red help it will take a long long time.