Second-Century Bible Passages Unearthed in Egyptian Garbage Dump

The Oxford-based Oxyrhynchus Society has recently announced the finding of a second-century piece of the Gospel of Mark, which has been a topic of rumors for many years.

In 1896, two young archaeologists, Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt, began excavating an ancient garbage dump at Oxyrhynchus (modern Al-Bahnasa) in Egypt. They were looking for ancient papyri.

Their work led to some of the most significant finds in archaeological history, such as thousands of fragments of texts, including some of the oldest fragments of the New Testament and other early Christian writings.

Recently, the Egyptian Exploration Society announced the discovery of a late second- or early third-century CE fragment of the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, recently published in The Oxyrhynchus Papryi Volume 83 (2018).

It was edited by Oxford academics Daniela Colomo and Dirk Obbink. This has been said to be a substantial discovery for those interested in the history of Christianity, evidence for dating the books of the Bible and the history of book-making.

Rumors of the existence of the Bible fragment had been circulating since February 2012 and had been a topic of debate in many scholarly circles.