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Is THIS the World’s Oldest Book Ever? Eagle-eyed expert rummaging through the Austrian library comes across a 10-inch segment of an Egyptian notebook dated 260 B.C.
- Conservator Theresa Zammi Lupi came across a book page from ancient Egypt
- It is 400 years older than what experts previously thought was the oldest book
- Researchers discovered this more than 100 years after the page was first excavated
An eagle-eyed expert has stumbled upon a fragment of what is believed to be part of the world’s oldest book.
Conservator Theresa Zammi Lupi discovered a notebook page from ancient Egypt – dating back to the third century – while rummaging through an Austrian library.
Despite originally being part of a manuscript known as a codex, researchers believe the same papyrus material was eventually used to wrap a mummy.
It was excavated 120 years ago in the cemetery of El Hiba, a city 500 kilometers away from Tutankhamun’s tomb.
But the true backstory was only realized this month during daily investigations.
Conservator Theresa Zammi Lupi came across this book page from ancient Egypt
“I was doing my routine work as a conservator in the lab,” said Ms. Zammi Lupi.
“I was reviewing our collection of papyrus because they need new storage and they need to be repaired if slightly damaged or put on new glass.”
‘First I saw a piece of wire, only then did I see the size of a book. I saw a center fold, the stitching holes and the written text within clear margins on the papyrus.’
Ancient civilizations, such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, used ‘papyrus’ as a type of paper to write messages on.
Researchers believe this 5.9 x 9.8 inch page was once part of a notebook containing tax bills for beer and oil.
It was then recycled between 305 and 330 BC to wrap a mummy as ‘cartonnage’ alongside other materials such as linen.
Although it was excavated in Egypt, the writing is actually a form of Greek, which was one of the most widely used languages at the time alongside Egyptian and Arabic.
The nickname “Graz Mummy Book” has now beaten the oldest books by 400 years that researchers previously thought.
Two examples of this are stored in the British Library in London and the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.
These have been dated to between 150 and 250 AD, which pales in comparison to the Graz Mummy Book of 260 BC.
“The Graz Mummy Book was created 400 years earlier, making it the oldest surviving form of a book known to date,” say Erich Renhart and Thomas Csanády, who are both heads of the library’s special collections.
Mr Renhart added: ‘However, it is not unlikely that more such codex fragments exist in other collections that have simply not been systematically searched to date.
Researchers believe this 6 x 10 inch papyrus was once part of a notebook used around 260 B.C. to keep tax accounts for beer and oil
Theresa Zammit Lupi (photo center right) next to rector Peter Riedler (left), UB director Pamela Stückler (center left) and Erich Renhart (right)
‘After all, papyrus was relatively cheap writing material and large quantities of fragments have been preserved.’
The library claims that this discovery has served as a “mandate” to conduct further research in the field.
Later in the year, international specialists are invited to meet in Graz to discuss the fragment and what has been learned about it.
Ms Zammit Lupi added: ‘As a curator it feels very special to contribute to the history of the book. At the same time you find it surreal. It’s like watching a movie!’