Lecture 7: Joining the Folds: the Making of the Codex
January 23rd, 2023
The Oxyrhynchus Discovery
In 1896, two English archaeologists working in Egypt began excavating an immense ancient
rubbish heap (about 30 feet deep) outside what had been Egypt’s 3rd largest city.
● About a year later, the archaeologists, Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt, published The
Oxyrhynchus Papyri.
● What they had found was stunning: poetry by Sappho; the earliest known copy of The
Gospel of Matthew; an unknown book of the New Testament—and hundreds more pieces
of papyrus with writing on them.
● This was the first account of material that stretched back 2000 years.
● The research is ongoing; the 79th volume of The Oxyrhynchus Papyri was published in
2014.
The Origins of the Paged Book
The discoveries of Grenfell and Hunt also led to a new understanding of when the codex first
appeared. Originally, the codex was thought to have originated in the 4th century CE.
● What Grenfell and Hunt discovered, however, was a remnant of the first numbered,
paged codex that they determined could be dated between 140 CE and 200 CE.
○ Was this the missing link between the scroll and the codex?
The Orihon, or folded book, has been proposed as the missing link between the scroll and codex.
● Based on the discovery of circa 100 orihons in the “literary cave” in Dunhuang China, the
British historian Cyril Davenport proposed in 1907 that the orihon was the predecessor of
the codex.
● Despite Davenpot’s assertion, no orihon has ever been discovered in Egypt.
● “In Egypt at least, the distinctive paged form of the codex had come about with nary an
orihon in sight” (Houston 270)
Another Theory: the Exchange of Letters
“It is the interplay between the content and the physical form of … letters that some academics
think explains the creation of the paged book” (Houston 270)
● The scholars Eduard Sachau (1845-1930) and subsequently Bexalel Porten (1931 –)
studied letters written in the 5th century BCE that had been found on the largest Nile
river island, the Elephantine.
● What Porten discovered was that letter sized pages were cut from scrolls and then folded
after they had been written on, and tied with a string.
The Roman Connection
January 23rd, 2023
The Oxyrhynchus Discovery
In 1896, two English archaeologists working in Egypt began excavating an immense ancient
rubbish heap (about 30 feet deep) outside what had been Egypt’s 3rd largest city.
● About a year later, the archaeologists, Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt, published The
Oxyrhynchus Papyri.
● What they had found was stunning: poetry by Sappho; the earliest known copy of The
Gospel of Matthew; an unknown book of the New Testament—and hundreds more pieces
of papyrus with writing on them.
● This was the first account of material that stretched back 2000 years.
● The research is ongoing; the 79th volume of The Oxyrhynchus Papyri was published in
2014.
The Origins of the Paged Book
The discoveries of Grenfell and Hunt also led to a new understanding of when the codex first
appeared. Originally, the codex was thought to have originated in the 4th century CE.
● What Grenfell and Hunt discovered, however, was a remnant of the first numbered,
paged codex that they determined could be dated between 140 CE and 200 CE.
○ Was this the missing link between the scroll and the codex?
The Orihon, or folded book, has been proposed as the missing link between the scroll and codex.
● Based on the discovery of circa 100 orihons in the “literary cave” in Dunhuang China, the
British historian Cyril Davenport proposed in 1907 that the orihon was the predecessor of
the codex.
● Despite Davenpot’s assertion, no orihon has ever been discovered in Egypt.
● “In Egypt at least, the distinctive paged form of the codex had come about with nary an
orihon in sight” (Houston 270)
Another Theory: the Exchange of Letters
“It is the interplay between the content and the physical form of … letters that some academics
think explains the creation of the paged book” (Houston 270)
● The scholars Eduard Sachau (1845-1930) and subsequently Bexalel Porten (1931 –)
studied letters written in the 5th century BCE that had been found on the largest Nile
river island, the Elephantine.
● What Porten discovered was that letter sized pages were cut from scrolls and then folded
after they had been written on, and tied with a string.
The Roman Connection
