Lost biblical manuscripts recovered by Glasgow University professor

An international team of academics have successfully recovered 42 lost pages of important New Testament manuscripts (Codex H), and the team was led by Glasgow’s very own theology professor, Garrick Allen!

The manuscripts in question were a 6th Century copy of the Letters of St Paul that had been lost for over 700 years, after being dismantled at the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos.

If you’re not studying a Theology degree, you might not be as aware of the importance of St Paul’s writings. Put simply, he authored 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament Bible and is therefore an incredibly important and influential figure in Christian theological history. The letters he wrote (also known as Epistles) had an enormous influence on Christianity and its spread.

Glasgow’s Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism explained the process that led to his team’s discovery: “The breakthrough came from an important starting point: we knew that at one point, the manuscript was re-inked.”

This process of “re-inking” is when a medieval monk or scribe traces over the original ancient copy in order to make it legible again. This was a common practice for medieval conservation as it refreshed ancient texts, but it also had a potential to damage the pages.

Professor Allen explained: “The chemicals in the new ink caused ‘offset’ damage to facing pages, essentially creating a mirror image of the text on the opposite leaf – sometimes leaving traces several pages deep, barely visible to the naked eye but very clear with latest imaging techniques.”

In partnership with the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL), researchers used multispectral imaging to process images of the extant pages, in order to recover “ghost” text that no longer physically exists, effectively retrieving multiple pages of information from every single physical page. To ensure historical accuracy, the team also collaborated with experts in Paris to perform radiocarbon dating, confirming the parchment’s 6th Century origin.”

So what does the discovery mean?

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Not only does this discovery make Glasgow University look impressive, but its also very important for theologians all over the world.

The recovered text offers a unique insight into how the New Testament has evolved and been understood throughout the centuries. We can see how medieval scribes corrected and annotated their sacred texts, as well as how medieval recycling worked – how the scribes repurposed things once they fell into disrepair. The discovery also reveals the earliest known examples of chapter lists for St Paul’s Letters, which differ drastically from how we divide these letters today.

To have discovered such a large quantity of Christian scripture, and to see how it originally looked is a monumental discovery.

A “codex” is a handwritten book format made of bound papyrus or parchment pages. It replaced the old-timey scroll, and looks much more similar to a modern book. This new Codex H will be available to read soon – hopefully they’ll be a copy available on floor 10 of the library.

A digital addition is available already, thanks to the work of Professor Allen, and Dr Kimberley Fowler of the Dutch University of Groningen.

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Featured image via Unsplash