Archaeology breakthrough as 1,900-year-old papyrus sheds light on ancient criminal case

An incredible 1,900-year-old papyrus sheds light on an ancient criminal case involving forgery, tax fraud and slaves from the Roman empire.

This , which was discovered in the 1950s but remained unnoticed until its rediscovery in 2014, provides incredible insights into Roman judicial practices and is said to be the best-documented Roman court case from apart from the trial of Jesus.

The document is the longest Greek document found in the Judean Desert, spanning over 133 lines of written text.

Experts from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem rediscovered this papyrus, the longest Greek papyrus ever found in the Judean desert.

Dr Anna Dolganov of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who was part of the team of experts involved in the archaeological effort, said: “This papyrus is extraordinary because it provides direct insight into trial preparations in this part of the Roman Empire. Forgery and tax fraud carried severe penalties under Roman law, including hard labor or even capital punishment.”

The papyrus records a prosecution case involving individuals who were accused of forging documents related to the sale and manumission of slaves to evade imperial taxes.

This case, occurring between the Jewish Diaspora Revolt (115-117 CE) and the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 CE), involved charges of forgery, tax evasion, and fraudulent slave sales.

Gadalias, who had a history of violence, extortion and counterfeiting, and his collaborator Saulos, were involved in these corrupt dealings, forging documents to conceal their activities.

They were accused of forging documents related to the sale and manumission of slaves to evade imperial taxes.

The document, called Papyrus Cotton, was discovered in the 1950s in the caves of Nahal Hever in the Judean Desert but was initially misclassified and went unnoticed until eventuall being redscovery in 2014 by Professor Hannah Cotton Paltiel from Hebrew University.

Professor Hannah Cotton Paltiel said: “I volunteered to organize documentary papyri in the Antiquities Authority’s scrolls laboratory, and when I saw it, marked ‘Nabataean,’ I exclaimed, ‘It’s Greek to me!”