The new Sappho papyrus probably came from Egypt and perhaps from Oxyrynchus, but its provenance may never be known. A thriving black market for papyri means that many of them emerge not from archaeological digs but from souks, bazaars and antiquities shops.Part of the collecting history is known (but not made public): it is owned by an anonymous collector. Where and when did this anonymous collector acquire the fragment? When did it leave Egypt?
The online preprint (to ZPE 189 [2014]) is no longer available. However a translation by Tim Whitmarsh is available from The Guardian and another by Steve Dodson.
ZPE was also due to be the place of publication for the Fordham mosaics apparently derived from a Christian church in Syria. In 2012 there was debate about a new papyrus fragment from a German collection.
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See also the discussion on "Bread and Circuses" here.
Thank you so much for adding your voice to the (slowly) mounting level of concern over this publication of "new fragments."
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