In 1929 Schmidt published news of the acquisition. Still, he feared repercussions if the story reached Egypt. The papyrus’s illicit provenance remained unknown for nearly a century.

Why the delays? Provenance. Carl Schmidt, a scholar and well-known buyer of manuscripts, had bought the papyrus in Egypt without the required approval of the authorities. Fearing publicity might alert the Egyptian state, he repeatedly urged Hamburg’s library to keep the purchase secret.

Reports on Papyrus bilinguis 1 - a famed early Christian codex from Egypt, today in the Hamburg State and University Library - have often come with delay. Its provenance, however, continues to raise urgent questions.

Gesehen am Kreuzstadl Rechnitz, Burgenland, wo im März 1945 200 jüdisch-ungarische Zwangsarbeiter ermordet wurden.

One of the many perks of my job is having the time to read and review important books. Recently, I dived into Sebastian Willert's 2024 publication on the translocation of archaeological artefacts from the Ottoman Empire to Germany in the late 19th and early 20th century.