[06.09.06]
- without prefix, numbers such as 1987.01 and D.371.1
- A, number 34
- Fragm. H. Omont, numbers from 1 till 8 [see also Louvain-la-Neuve, Université Catholique de Louvain]
- Khirbet Mird MAB G, number 3
- Khirbet Mird PAM, numbers from 1 till 29
- P. Gr., numbers 1 and 8
- PZ: papyri Zwaenepoel

The papyri are kept between glass plates in the strongroom of the manuscripts department of the university.

There is a provisional English catalogue of the Khirbet Mird Papyri; the Zwaenepoel papyri have a Dutch index catalogue dating from before 1954. A few texts have been digitized; click here for a list of images and descriptions.

A few important Khirbet Mird texts have been published by J. Van Haelst, Anc.Soc. 22 (1991), p.297-317 and D.Verhelst, Le Muséon 116 (2003), pp.15-35 (LDAB 2927).

The Odyssee fragment is published M. Huys, Ancient Society 19 (1988), p.61-69 (LDAB 2391 ).

H.-Th. Lefort has published the literary Coptic texts, which are lost in the fire of the Library : Les manuscrits coptes de l'université de Louvain, I, Louvain 1940

The Achmimic 4th cent. codex is published by H.-Th. Lefort in Le Muséon 52 (1939), pp.223-228 and 66 (1953), pp.1-3 (LDAB 107965)

A full publication of the Khirbet Mird documents is envisaged, if possible through collaboration of the K.U.Leuven and the Univ. Cath. de Louvain. An edition of the Coptic documents is being prepared by A. Delattre (Univ. de Bruxelles)

1. Greek gospel of Marc( TM 61770)2. Achmimic codex of the Old and New Testament, with pastor of Hermas (TM 107965) 3. Fragment of the Odyssea ( TM 61230) )

Cf. A.Martin, Les collections de papyrus conservées en Belgique, Atti del XXII Congresso di Papirologia, Firenze 1998, (Firenze 2001), pp.889-890.

The Library of the University of Leuven/Louvain has been twice destroyed by fire; in 1970 it was divided between Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve.

1. A dozen papyri from Oxyrhynchus et and El-Hibeh were offered to Leuven by the Egypt Exploration Fund (inv. 204-219) before the first World War. They were lost in the fire of 25 and 26 August 1914 except for three, which are now at Louvain-la-Neuve. Ten other Oxyrhynchus papyri came to Leuven about 1922 (inv. D.371.1-10); they were lost when the library was bombed on 16 and 17 May 1940. Archive: Leodamas

2. A large group of texts comes from Khirbet Mird , near the Dead Sea. Part of it was found by Bedouins in 1952 (P.A.M.), the rest discovered (or acquired ?) by a Leuven archaeological mission in 1953 under the direction of R. De Langhe in 1953 (M.A.B.). These are christian texts of the period AD VI - AD VIII, no doubt originating from a monastery, both literary and documentary papyri and a few parchments. There are about 300 fragments, most of them very small. During the same campaign R. De Langhe acquired from a Bedouin a parchment fragment with some verses of Euripides. The original is now lost, but the text was published on the basis of a photograph (LDAB 1005). Some of the most interesting texts are published by J. Van Haelst, Anc.Soc. 22 (1991), p.297-317.

3. Ten fragmentary papyri, mainly of palaeographic interest, were found in the inheritance of prof. Peremans. They probably derive from the collection of A. Zwaenepoel. They are paleaographically interesting because they represent different scripts (demotic, Greek, Coptic and Arabic) from different periods. Publication is being prepared by W. Clarysse.

4. A small Ptolemaic fragment of the Odyssee (inv. 1987.01 = LDAB 2391) is the oldest manuscript in the collection.

5. A large group of Coptic papyri, both literary and documentary, including a few Byzantine Greek documents (SB VI 9368 and XIV 11992), were destroyed in May 1940. They had been acquired in1936 from C. Schmidt (1868-1938). L.-Th. Lefort published the literary items, whereas the documents, some of which are from the area of Baouit, were never published. Fortunately a microfilm of the documents survives. An edition of the Coptic documents is being prepared by A. Delattre (Univ. Libre de Bruxelles)

6. Lefort acquired some new papyri after the second war. Most are now in Louvain-la-Neuve, but in Leuven there are six pages of magnificent Coptic codex in the Akhmimic dialect, containing both the Old and the New Testament, including the Pastor of Hermas (LDAB 107965).