For more than a century, it has caused excitement and frustration in equal measure - a collection of Greek and Roman writings so vast it could redraw the map of classical civilisation. If only it was legible.

Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

This may well be vastly overblown as you might have guessed from the rather grandiose claims in the Independent article.
- jim 4-21-2005 3:37 am [add a comment]

Thanks for the view from the papyrological community!
- tom moody 4-21-2005 3:45 am [add a comment]

I am always incredibly impressed by anything having to do with the University of Chicago. If I was a better man I would have gone there for my undergraduate. The fact that one of my favorite serious geek writers (the ars technica link in my first comment) is "currently taking a papyrology seminar at University of Chicago with the head of the SBL papyrology group" just confirms my belief that I am in the right general field - even if I don't have the moxie to engage in such wide ranging pursuits.
- jim 4-21-2005 7:02 am [add a comment]