I was recently trying to track down online images of ancient Christian and Jewish manuscripts. I found quite a few imaging projects that are making ancient Mediterranean manuscripts more and more available to the scholar and layperson. The briefly annotated list below highlights some of the more interesting sites I ran across. (By the way, if anyone knows of any other good sites with images of ancient manuscripts, please let me know. Thanks.)
- APIS: Advanced Papyrological Information System–“APIS is a collections-based repository hosting information about and images of papyrological materials (e.g. papyri, ostraca, wood tablets, etc) located in collections around the world.” Browse and search the database. Note:Search system gives you the option to “Show records w/images first”. The five collections immediately below are included in APIS.
- Center for the Tebtunis Papyri–UC Berkley collection from the town of Tebtunis Egypt. “…largest collection of papyrus texts in the Americas.” For images click on “The Collection” and “On-Line Exhibits” on the left-hand side of the page.
Image Content: from 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD; administrative, legal, business, and religious documents; literary fragments (Homer, Xenophon, Pinder, Euripides) - Duke Papyrus Archive–Very easy site to navigate. Search or browse by topic or language. Catalog records included with each image.
Image Content: “1400 papyri from ancient Egypt.” Includes Old Testament (used by christians), New Testament, and other early Christian manuscripts - Princeton University Library Papyrus Homepage–Scroll down the page and click on “Digital Images of Selected Princeton Papyri”.
Image Content: administrative, religious, literary manuscripts in Greek (including New Testament), Latin, Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic - University of Michigan Papyrus Collection–Well-designed site with lots of information on ancient writing. To see images click on “Exhibits” or “APIS” in menu bar at top..
Image Content: Greek (including New Testament) and Latin papyri - Yale Papyrus Collection–Search Yale’s Papyrus Collection Database to view images.
Image Content: many genres, many languages, many locations, many time periods
Image Content: New Testament, Old Testament, Hebrew Scriptures
Image Content:very sharp images of New Testament manuscripts.
Image Content: Greek literary and philosophical documents
Image Content: from 1st century BC to 6th century AD, Greek papyri,wide range of genres including classical authors and New Testament
Image Content: ancient religious documents including pages from Leningrad Codex and Dead Sea Scrolls
Thanks, Fred! This is a wonderful post!
Great collection, Fred!
Keep it up!