Forging Antiquity

The website for the Australian Research Council Discovery Project: Forging Antiquity: Authenticity, forgery and fake papyri

This gallery shows some of the types of material on which we will focus: forged papyri (alleged or proven) and related artefacts, as well as strange – but presumably authentic – scripts and material that have not yet been explained, and that could be mistaken for forgeries. While the project database is being produced, this page will feature papyri and other artefacts which illustrate the issues we are addressing. To report a fake papyrus to us, contact us at info@forgingantiquity.com.

The first forged papyrus in Europe

Types of Papyrus Forgery: Simulated Script

Types of papyrus forgery: Composites.

The papyri of Constantine Simonides

Unknown Scripts: ostraca from Berenike