A Riveting Academic Detective Story
5 stars
This book is a riveting, informative, academic mystery, with Roberta Mazza taking us on a mind-boggling tour of the tangled world of trade in ancient artifacts. Starting with what can only be described as a jaw-dropping, brazen destruction of an ancient artifact, Mazza then combines a rich explanation of the field of papyrology, how and why academics and institutions engage with papyrus scroll dealers, and the norms of the field and grey industry supporting collectors and researchers alike. She then takes us through a scandalous network of trades and actors that surround the Green family's (Hobby Lobby's owners) rapid procurement of artifacts to fill their politically-inflected "Museum of the Bible." While I would've liked a bit more economic details on the scale and volume of this market, that's a minor quibble. This book is an absolute page-turner. Highly recommend