Reading the materiality of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri: non-invasive analyses to reveal scribal choices

This paper presents the first ever material characterisation of inks used in 23 documentary papyri excavated in Oxyrhynchus, about 160 km south-east of Cairo. These papyri date to between the fourth and seventh centuries CE, and are nowadays preserved at the Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library in Oxford. The material analyses were carried out with in situ analytical methods, namely infrared reflectography (IRR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Moreover, the data obtained with XRF on the papyrus support were further explored with principal component analysis (PCA). To our knowledge, this study represents the first instance in which PCA was applied to a dataset obtained from ancient papyri with portable, non-invasive analytical equipment. The differences in the material composition highlighted suggest the papyrus used for these documents proceeded from different sources. Furthermore, the investigation of the writing inks confirmed a trend we highlighted during previous material studies of manuscripts from the Byzantine period: carbon-based ink is predominantly used for documentary texts, while iron-gall ink is for literary texts. Finally, the peculiar case of a document bearing the proceedings from the court of Alexandria suggests the existence, in this area, of specific technical and scribal traditions that have not been pointed out before.

Automated summary

This paper presents the first-ever material characterization of inks used in 23 documentary papyri excavated in Oxyrhynchus. The analyses were carried out using infrared reflectography and X-ray fluorescence, and the data obtained were further explored using principal component analysis. The study revealed differences in the material composition, suggesting that the papyrus used for these documents came from different sources. Additionally, the investigation of writing inks confirmed the use of carbon-based ink for documentary texts and iron-gall ink for literary texts, and highlighted specific technical and scribal traditions in the court of Alexandria.