‘The Graz Mummy Book’ (UBG Ms I 1946) Impressions from an Experts’ Meeting

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Published: Jun 10, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14434/tc.v18i1.41347
Keywords:
Ptolemaic cartonnage-making, Graz Mummy Book, Papyrus Fragments

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Theresa Zammit Lupi
Graz University Library, Austria
Lena Krämer
Graz University Library, Austria
Erich Renhart
Graz University, Austria
Thomas Csanády
Graz University Library, Austria
Giorgios Boudalis
Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Greece
Jörg Feldmann
Graz University, Austria
Manfred Mayer
Graz University Library, Austria
Brent Nongbri
MF Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo, Norway
Nicholas Pickwoad
Ligatus Research Centre
Helen Sharp
British Museum, London, UK
Jill Unkel
The Chester Beatty, Dublin, Ireland

Abstract

This article summarizes the main arguments discussed at a meeting held at Graz University Library, Austria, in February 2024 where a team of experts met to discuss papyrus fragment UBG Ms I 1946, also known as ‘The Graz Mummy Book’. This fragment, which had been recycled as mummy cartonnage in the Ptolemaic period, displays features of a bifolio with a central fold and text written on either side. It also has holes and a thread fragment which indicate that the document was folded upon itself and secured with tackets. Another pair of holes, named X and Y, is positioned at equal distance from the central fold and was pierced from the opposite direction to the tacket holes. Along with the bifolio features, the Graz team interpreted these holes as evidence for a stab sewing, which would make the fragment the earliest surviving remains of a codex, predating other known examples by at least four hundred years. Because this interpretation was contested, the meeting in Graz was convened to facilitate open discussion about the nature of the fragment. The meeting focused on examining the individual features of the document, with particular attention to the holes, and their possible interpretations. Gaps in the understanding of Ptolemaic cartonnage-making practices were identified and scientific analysis and comparison were suggested as methods for further investigation of the fragment.

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Article Details

Issue
Vol. 18 No. 1 (2025): Textual Cultures
Section
Essays

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Author Biographies

Theresa Zammit Lupi, Graz University Library, Austria

Theresa Zammit Lupi studied conservation in Florence and later in London where she received her doctorate in the conservation of manuscripts, after which she was a fellow at Harvard University. Since 2021 she is Head of Conservation at Graz University Library, Austria. In 2023 she discovered ‘The Mummy Book’, the oldest manuscript in book form.

Lena Krämer, Graz University Library, Austria

Lena Krämer is a conservator of books and library materials. After obtaining a BA in History and Philosophy, she completed an MA degree in conservation at West Dean College (UK) in 2021. She has since worked in private practice and is currently conservator for Graz University Library in Austria.

Erich Renhart, Graz University, Austria

Erich Renhart is professor of liturgical studies and the director of Vestigia — the Manuscript Research Centre at Graz University. His main research areas are Armenian, Greek and Syriac liturgical manuscripts, codicological and palimpsest studies, and fragmentology.

Thomas Csanády, Graz University Library, Austria

Thomas Csanády is Head of the Special Collections at Graz University Library, Austria. He is a member of Vestigia — the Manuscript Research Center in Graz and lecturer at the Department for Systematic Theology and Liturgical Studies, Graz. He has published extensively on liturgical manuscripts and is a member of the IMS Study Group Cantus Planus.

Giorgios Boudalis, Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Greece

Giorgios Boudalis is senior book and paper conservator at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is the author of The Codex and Crafts in Late Antiquity which summarizes his interest and research in the establishment, spread, making, and depiction of the codex in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Jörg Feldmann, Graz University, Austria

Jörg Feldmann is an environmental analytical chemist who focuses on developing novel analytical methods for trace elements which have also been used in an archaeological context. After spending more than 25 years in Scotland and Canada, he became Head of Analytical Chemistry at the Graz University in 2020.

Manfred Mayer, Graz University Library, Austria

Manfred Mayer was Head Conservator at Graz University Library, Austria from 1986 to 2019. His special interests lie in the conservation and codicology of medieval manuscripts and incunables, exhibition technology and the development of special equipment for digitizing manuscripts such as the “Traveller Copy Stand” and the “Slimlight” which he designed.

Brent Nongbri, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo, Norway

Brent Nongbri is Professor of History of Religion at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Oslo. He leads The Early History of the Codex: A New Methodology and Ethics for Manuscript Studies (EthiCodex, sponsored by the Research Council of Norway, 2021–2026).

Nicholas Pickwoad, Ligatus Research Centre

Nicholas Pickwoad worked as a book conservator in the UK and the US and was adviser to the National Trust on book conservation. He led the St Catherine’s Monastery (Sinai) Library Project, and was director of the Ligatus Research Centre. He teaches and publishes widely on the history of bookbinding.

Helen Sharp, British Museum, London, UK

Helen Sharp is the papyrus conservator at the British Museum. She gained an MA in Conservation of Fine Art. At the British Museum she trained under Bridget Leach, taking over the role of papyrus conservator in 2016. She has a particular interest in the materiality of papyrus, roll formation and marginalia. 

Jill Unkel, The Chester Beatty, Dublin, Ireland

Jill Unkel, Chester Beatty’s Curator of Western Collections, is involved in various interdisciplinary projects, with particular interest in object histories and iconography. Recent publications include First Fragments: Biblical Papyrus from Roman Egypt, ‘An old story retold: the acquisition of the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri,’ and ‘The Collector: Edith Beatty.’