Roman law text reconstructed from 1,600-year-old fragments

Matthijs Wibier, an assistant professor of classical studies at the University of Cincinnati, has reconstructed and translated a 1,600-year-old Roman law text from 50 animal skin fragments. The fragments, which were part of an Egyptian antiquity collection at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia since 1911, were assembled like a puzzle to reveal a double-sided page.

The text, dating from the late 4th century during the reigns of Constantius II and Julian the Apostate, appears to be a small collection of imperial laws regarding taxes and public duties. Wibier noted that unlike larger known Roman law codes, this document was likely a portable manual intended for use by traveling officials, landowners, or lawyers.

This discovery is considered significant because very few intact books from this period have survived, making the translation of such fragmented manuscripts vital for understanding imperial law during the late Roman Empire.