The John Rylands Library at Deansgate holds the most ancient fragment of a New Testament writing, the so called P 52 or P Ryl III 457 bearing traces of John 18:31-33 on one side and 18:37-38 on the other. You can listen at a short introduction to the fragment and see it in a video that has been recently filmed for a University project, Scarlet.
Scarlet involves a team of academics, librarians and IT experts of the University of Manchester who are experimenting augmented reality for the developing of applications to enhance the use of manuscripts in teaching and public engagement. You can follow our blog at http://teamscarlet.wordpress.com/

I will give two public talks on the Rylands Papyri next 27 and 30 July. We will unveil Egyptian letters, contracts, accounts, books, religious and magical texts dating from the 4th century BCE, along with the fascinating stories behind their discovery and long journey to Manchester.
The event will be repeated the following Saturday (30 July).
More information at http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/deansgate/events/

GREat Manchester! Graeco-Roman Egypt at Manchester

A Colloquium on Texts and Objects from Graeco-Roman Egypt in the John Rylands Library, the Museum of Manchester and the Whitworth Art Gallery.

10 June 2011, The John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester,
M3 3EH

9:45-10:00 Welcome

10:00-10:45
Gary Butler (University of Manchester)
From Egypt to Cottonopolis: Collecting, Colonialism and Cultural Value in Late-Victorian Manchester

10:45-11.30
Karen Exell (Museum of Manchester)
Petrie, Portraits and Papyri: Graeco-Roman Egypt at The Manchester Museum

11:30-12:00 Coffee

12:00-12:45
Frances Pritchard (Whitworth Art Gallery)
Late Roman and Byzantine Textiles from Egypt in the Whitworth Art Gallery. A Significant Resource

13:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-14:45
Roberta Mazza (University of Manchester)
People, Texts and Empires: The Rylands Papyri in Contexts

14:45-15:30
Nikolaos Gonis (University College London)
Grenfell and Hunt, Dealers in Papyri, and the Rylands Collection

15:30-16:00 Coffee

16-16:30
Alan K. Bowman (Brasenose College, Oxford)
Conclusions

16:30-17:30
Round Table:
Wandering Objects. Egyptian Artefacts from the Ancient Mediterranean to the Global World: Reflections and Perspectives in a Time of Crises.

Dear All, I wish I was there!
I have just been hired at the University of Manchester UK and it was impossible to accomodate my teaching schedule with a long journey to New Orleans.
You can download the paper as it was supposed to be read from here:
Paper SBL2009

I will be more than happy to have a discussion of my paper on this blog. The powerpoint presentation was too heavy to be uploaded but I will be glad to send it via email to anyone eventually interested.

Enjoy your session!

Roberta