Books by Roberta Mazza
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Articles by Roberta Mazza
Open access through this link: https://www.sidestone.com/books/variant-scholarship
This chapter ... more Open access through this link: https://www.sidestone.com/books/variant-scholarship
This chapter looks at the history of the papyrological practice of disassembling mummy and other types of cartonnage to retrieve papyrus manuscripts hidden within. Through the discussion of cases dating from the nineteenth century to the contemporary, it argues that the extraction of papyri from cartonnage has fulfilled different aims: sourcing texts dating to the Ptolemaic period, creating excitement for new discoveries and in some cases offering a convenient provenance narrative for undocumented or illegally sourced papyri. The practice remains highly problematic in various respects and more attention should be paid to the curatorial, ethical and legal issues involved.
Keywords: cartonnage, papyri, provenance, papyrology, new Sappho papyri, Artemidorus papyrus, antiquities market
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THE BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PAPYROLOGISTS, 2022
This article analyses contemporary sources concerning the first discovery of papyri at el-Bahnasa... more This article analyses contemporary sources concerning the first discovery of papyri at el-Bahnasa in 1896-1897 and argues that later accounts about the first season at the site depend too heavily on the official narratives written by Grenfell and disseminated in archaeological reports and newspaper and magazine articles that aimed to sensationalize the achievement in order to foster subscriptions to the Egypt Exploration Fund, which sponsored the excavation. A close reading of more private archival material shows that the choice of excavating at Oxyrhynchus was less a decision of Grenfell and Hunt and far more the result of negotiations between different actors. Close readings of the journals of Flinders Petrie, who was the holder of the excavation concession, demonstrate that surveys he conducted before the arrival of the two papyrologists with the help of the brother of the local shaykh, Ahmed Sayed, were conducive to the great haul of papyri. While mainstream portraits of Grenfell and Hunt tend to mythologize their discoveries at Oxyrhynchus, this article argues that this event needs to be framed in the wider colonial context and read as a collective complex achievement, with long lasting and not always positive consequences.
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in: E. O'Connell (ed.) Egypt and Empire: Religious Identities from Roman to Modern Times (London:... more in: E. O'Connell (ed.) Egypt and Empire: Religious Identities from Roman to Modern Times (London: The British Museum) 2022: 335-347.
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Qualitative Research, 2021
OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794121992736
This article builds on the notions of thick... more OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794121992736
This article builds on the notions of thick and thin description elaborated by Geertz and looks at what descriptive methods have been used in the field of papyrology, a sub-discipline of classics that studies ancient manuscripts on papyrus fragments recovered through legal and illegal excavations in Egypt from the 19th century. Past generations of papyrologists have described papyri merely as resources to retrieve ancient ‘texts’. In the article I argue these descriptions have had negative effects in the way this ancient material has been studied, preserved, and also exchanged through the antiquities market. Through a series of case studies, I offer an alternative description of papyrus fragments as things, which have a power that can be activated under specific circumstances or entanglements. In demonstrating papyrus manuscripts’ unstable nature and shifting meanings, which are contingent on such entanglements, the article calls for a new politics and ethics concerning their preservation and exchange.
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Eidolon, open access: https://eidolon.pub/the-green-fiasco-in-context-f6f6d2c87329, 2020
https://eidolon.pub/the-green-fiasco-in-context-f6f6d2c87329
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Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2019
This article provides a methodological introduction to the issues and questions raised in the dos... more This article provides a methodological introduction to the issues and questions raised in the dossier curated by the author: How can we attribute a date to ancient papyri when it is not indicated in the text? What methods have been employed so far for dating and how reliable are they? What kind of conscious and unconscious biases underpin the attribution of a date to Christian papyri in particular? Is scientific analysis a more reliable means than palaeography to establish the age of composition of an ancient text? After discussing some research performed on papyri from the Rylands collection, bearing early Christian texts, the author addresses some of the strengths and pitfalls of any of the methods currently available, ranging from palaeography to radiocarbon dating and Raman spectroscopy. In conclusion, it is argued that more clarity and transparency
are needed in the way motivations for attributing a date to a fragment are provided in academic publications and that only a multidisciplinary approach can partially overcome the problems at stake.
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The Museum of the Bible: A Critical Introduction, edited by J. Hicks-Keeton, C. Concannon, 2019
Through the discussion of the birth and development of the Green papyrus collection and its parti... more Through the discussion of the birth and development of the Green papyrus collection and its partial inclusion in the Museum of the Bible of Washington DC, this chapter addresses for the first time questions related to the development of papyrus collecting and publishing and their colonial roots. It shows that many collectors and academics, including the Green family and their employees, are still following methods and practices embedded into the colonial past, and this constitutes a threat to the preservation of ancient manuscripts from Egypt.
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Nodar A, Torallas Tovar S, editors. Proceedings of the 28th Congress of Papyrology; 2016 August 1-6; Barcelona. Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2019
Open access: https://repositori.upf.edu/bitstream/handle/10230/42017/02_Roberta_Mazza.pdf
This p... more Open access: https://repositori.upf.edu/bitstream/handle/10230/42017/02_Roberta_Mazza.pdf
This paper considers questions related with the circulation of papyri on the antiquities market. It analyses current professional guidelines and practices, and shows their limits in view of recent case studies. In the conclusion, I propose to introduce some changes to current academic policies and practices.
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Hyperallergic February 2018
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A landlady Victorina is known from three published papyri: P.Herm. 42, P.Bodl. I 26 and P.Grenf. ... more A landlady Victorina is known from three published papyri: P.Herm. 42, P.Bodl. I 26 and P.Grenf. II 97. This article presents two new texts belonging to her dossier, P.Ryl.Greek Add. 1150 and P.Berol inv. 9083, and a new edition of P.Herm. 42. Although there are no firm elements allowing us to know the location of lady Victorina's estate nor any other important information such as her family background, the papyri present interesting material features and offer insights on the mechanics of land management in Byzantine Egypt.
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Discussion of the retrieval, distribution and sales of P.Oxy. 1780, a fragment of the Gospel of J... more Discussion of the retrieval, distribution and sales of P.Oxy. 1780, a fragment of the Gospel of John (P 39), currently in the Green Collection, and the ethical issues involved. An appendix publishes early correspondence about the acquisition of the Rylands papyri.
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Books by Roberta Mazza
Articles by Roberta Mazza
This chapter looks at the history of the papyrological practice of disassembling mummy and other types of cartonnage to retrieve papyrus manuscripts hidden within. Through the discussion of cases dating from the nineteenth century to the contemporary, it argues that the extraction of papyri from cartonnage has fulfilled different aims: sourcing texts dating to the Ptolemaic period, creating excitement for new discoveries and in some cases offering a convenient provenance narrative for undocumented or illegally sourced papyri. The practice remains highly problematic in various respects and more attention should be paid to the curatorial, ethical and legal issues involved.
Keywords: cartonnage, papyri, provenance, papyrology, new Sappho papyri, Artemidorus papyrus, antiquities market
This article builds on the notions of thick and thin description elaborated by Geertz and looks at what descriptive methods have been used in the field of papyrology, a sub-discipline of classics that studies ancient manuscripts on papyrus fragments recovered through legal and illegal excavations in Egypt from the 19th century. Past generations of papyrologists have described papyri merely as resources to retrieve ancient ‘texts’. In the article I argue these descriptions have had negative effects in the way this ancient material has been studied, preserved, and also exchanged through the antiquities market. Through a series of case studies, I offer an alternative description of papyrus fragments as things, which have a power that can be activated under specific circumstances or entanglements. In demonstrating papyrus manuscripts’ unstable nature and shifting meanings, which are contingent on such entanglements, the article calls for a new politics and ethics concerning their preservation and exchange.
are needed in the way motivations for attributing a date to a fragment are provided in academic publications and that only a multidisciplinary approach can partially overcome the problems at stake.
This paper considers questions related with the circulation of papyri on the antiquities market. It analyses current professional guidelines and practices, and shows their limits in view of recent case studies. In the conclusion, I propose to introduce some changes to current academic policies and practices.
This chapter looks at the history of the papyrological practice of disassembling mummy and other types of cartonnage to retrieve papyrus manuscripts hidden within. Through the discussion of cases dating from the nineteenth century to the contemporary, it argues that the extraction of papyri from cartonnage has fulfilled different aims: sourcing texts dating to the Ptolemaic period, creating excitement for new discoveries and in some cases offering a convenient provenance narrative for undocumented or illegally sourced papyri. The practice remains highly problematic in various respects and more attention should be paid to the curatorial, ethical and legal issues involved.
Keywords: cartonnage, papyri, provenance, papyrology, new Sappho papyri, Artemidorus papyrus, antiquities market
This article builds on the notions of thick and thin description elaborated by Geertz and looks at what descriptive methods have been used in the field of papyrology, a sub-discipline of classics that studies ancient manuscripts on papyrus fragments recovered through legal and illegal excavations in Egypt from the 19th century. Past generations of papyrologists have described papyri merely as resources to retrieve ancient ‘texts’. In the article I argue these descriptions have had negative effects in the way this ancient material has been studied, preserved, and also exchanged through the antiquities market. Through a series of case studies, I offer an alternative description of papyrus fragments as things, which have a power that can be activated under specific circumstances or entanglements. In demonstrating papyrus manuscripts’ unstable nature and shifting meanings, which are contingent on such entanglements, the article calls for a new politics and ethics concerning their preservation and exchange.
are needed in the way motivations for attributing a date to a fragment are provided in academic publications and that only a multidisciplinary approach can partially overcome the problems at stake.
This paper considers questions related with the circulation of papyri on the antiquities market. It analyses current professional guidelines and practices, and shows their limits in view of recent case studies. In the conclusion, I propose to introduce some changes to current academic policies and practices.
Christie Room, The John Rylands Library, Manchester
For the program, check the link below
Barcelona, 5th August 2016