In 1901, the Reverend Charles B. Huleatt acquired three pieces of a New Testament manuscript on the murky antiquities market of Luxor, Egypt. He donated these papyrus fragments to his alma mater, Magdalen College in Oxford, England, where they sat in a display case and drew very little attention. Nearly a century later, the fragments -- part of the Gospel of Matthew and thought to date from A.D. 180-200 -- were reevaluated by scholar Carsten Peter Thiede. His research showed the bits of papyrus to be significantly older, written about A.D. 60.
But what is all the fuss about? How can three...
In 1901, the Reverend Charles B. Huleatt acquired three pieces of a New Testament manuscript on the murky antiquities market of Luxor, Egypt. He donat...
