An ancient scroll with an amazing (hi)story

The Orbiney papyrus is an important and unique document. It was acquired by the British Museum in 1857 from a British woman Elizabeth d’Orbiney, and was named after her. The papyrus scroll is quite long; it consists of 19 columns, each of which contain ca. 10 lines of text.

For purposes of preservation and display, the scroll has been cut into several smaller pieces which were subsequently framed.

The overall condition of the document is relatively good, especially considering its venerable age; the object is over 3.000 years old! It is very fortunate that the scroll has been so well preserved, because its content is extraordinary. The text relates a fascinating story about two brothers, and has been described as one of the oldest ‘fairy tales’ in the world.