Saturday, January 9, 2021

Radiocarbon Dating of P.Köln Inv. 5941

In a recent COMSt article Date, Materiality and Historical Significance of P.Köln Inv. 5941, the authors report a new analysis of an old Hebrew liturgical manuscript reportedly from Oxyrhynchus. The ink is apparently a mixed iron-gall ink, making it an important early example of this ink type. A sample was radiocarbon dated to the late 3rd or 4th century CE, which accords well with Edna Engel's paleographic dating. Before reading the article, I looked briefly at the fragment paleographically, and I supposed a date from the 3rd-5th centuries. So here we have a good example where material and paleographic evidence support dating another important document to the dark ages of Hebrew manuscripts. See also my article on EGLev.

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