Genizah Fragments

The term ‘silk road’ likely conjures up images of a well-trodden track, somewhere in central Eurasia, walked by merchants and camels carrying exotic cargo. From the outset, the British Museum’s new major exhibition, Silk Roads, challenges this image with the addition of a single letter – this fabled route was no single road. It also involved much more than silk. Entering the exhibition gallery, the journey begins with cases of objects from Japan, the Korean peninsula, and Tang China, illustrating... Read More

Yesterday evening, Nick Posegay and I stood in Heffers Bookshop before a supportive crowd of family, friends, and Genizah enthusiasts to speak about and officially launch 'The Illustrated Cairo Genizah'. The book marks the Genizah Research Unit's 50th anniversary, and celebrates the increasing public interest in the Genizah collection. It showcases over 300 of the Genizah's more eye-catching fragments, in 12 thematic chapters (Highlights, Bible & Judaism, Sketches & Illustrations, Letters, Magic, Science & Medicine, Arabic & Islam, Documents, Ketubbot, Education, Bookmaking... Read More

Nick, you’ve recently published an article about a Bible fragment.

That’s right. Two fragments in fact: T-S NS 305.198 and T-S NS 305.210. They join together to make a single bifolium from an Arabic psalter manuscript. So, a book of Psalms and other liturgical songs that would’ve been sung in Arabic church services. This page is the beginning of the ‘canticles’, a selection of songs from other parts of the Bible that Orthodox churches included at the end of their psalters. The first canticle here is from Exodus 15:1–120. It’s known as the ‘Song of the Sea’, the song... Read More

My colleague, Estara Arrant posted an image on social media of one of the nine fragments that constitutes T-S K22.16, jokingly remarking that the streaky brown mess resembled a slice of toast.

As one might expect the catalogue entry on these fragments is short. Very short. It consists of one word - ‘illegible’. This of course piqued my interest. What was the ‘toast’ hiding? Also, I love a challenge. Thus, the day after the 2024 Ullendorff lecture, Estara brought the manuscript into the Genizah Unit and we set to work to solve the puzzle.

Whilst we refer to this as toast,... Read More