To make matters more complicated, a third-century fragment of papyrus found in ancient Egypt gives the number 616 instead of 666.
This past week a new eBay auction announced the sale of “Ancient Egyptian papyrus with Greek letters—Bible.”
Francis Watson argued that all of the fragmentary sentences preserved on the papyrus are also found in the Gospel of Thomas.
Unfortunately, the papyrus was too fragile to allow for carbon testing of the ink.
The papyrus (published in 1891) contains seven complete poems and fragments of an eighth.
Wreaths of papyrus crowned these dishes with their green foliage.
The paraschites had taken the little bag with the strip of papyrus, and heard the leech to the end.
It was impossible to get it away without tearing the outer sheets of papyrus.
There the coffins for the first time were opened, and in them were found two rolls of papyrus covered with engravings.
The pond is edged by papyrus plants, which are alternately in blossom and in bud.
late 14c., from Latin papyrus "the paper plant, paper made from it," from Greek papyros "any plant of the paper plant genus," said to be of Egyptian origin. Proper plural is papyri.