Police Arrest an Oxford Professor for Allegedly Stealing Ancient Papyrus Fragments and Selling Them to the Museum of the Bible

An Oxford professor who stands accused of stealing ancient
biblical texts from the university’s Sackler Library has been
arrested. It’s the latest development in a saga fit for an Indiana
Jones movie, which revolves around the disappearance of
papyrus fragments that belong to the Egypt Exploration Society and
were stored at the university’s library.

Authorities have accused Oxford papyrologist Dirk Obbink, age
63, of selling 13 of the artifacts to the owners of the Museum of
the Bible in Washington, DC, which returned them last year
after learning they were stolen. The society has identified an
additional 120 pieces as missing from the collection, reports
the Oxford Blue. Obbink denies any
wrongdoing.

The manuscripts are part of the Oxyrhynchus collection, which
was excavated in the late 19th and early 20th century from an
ancient rubbish dump in Egypt.

“These are early fragments of the gospels or biblical
fragments,” the society’s director, Carl Graves, told the
Guardian.
“They are testament to Egypt’s early Christian heritage and are
early evidence of biblical scripture. We don’t value them
monetarily but they are priceless and irreplaceable.”

Obbink, who teaches papyrology and Greek literature, was taken
into custody on March 2 by Thames Valley police. A formal
complaint was filed against him with the police in November. The
Egypt Exploration Society revoked Obbink’s access to its collection
in June, and Oxford
suspended him in October, although he is still listed as a
professor on the university’s website.

Scott Carroll and Jerry Pattengale, who helped amass the
collection of the Museum of the Bible for founder and Hobby Lobby
tycoon Steve Green, reportedly met with Obbink on multiple
occasions. In the sales invoices for the society’s documents, the
disgraced academic is listed as the seller.

Spokespeople for Oxford and the Museum of the Bible did not
immediately respond to Artnet News’s request for comment. Obbink
could not be reached.

Despite the evidence against him, however, Obbink has insisted
that the allegations are false. In his only public statement on the
matter, made in October, he claimed that the incriminating
documents “have been fabricated in a malicious attempt to harm my
reputation and career.”

The post Police Arrest an Oxford Professor for Allegedly
Stealing Ancient Papyrus Fragments and Selling Them to the Museum
of the Bible appeared first on artnet News.