The Leiden Papyrological Institute is the only papyrological institute in the Netherlands, and one of the few institutes in the world where study of Greek and Demotic Egyptian is combined. This is reflected in both teaching and research. Members of the Institute are active in publishing texts from various…

The Leiden Papyrological Institute is the only papyrological institute in the Netherlands. The members of our staff publish Greek (and Latin), Demotic (and Abnormal-Hieratic) and Coptic papyri from collections all over the world, including our own collection.

Overview of the most important papyrological websites

Papyrology+, founded in 2014, is a collaboration of Leiden scholars studying (Abnormal) Hieratic, Demotic, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic papyri from a socio-historical, economic and linguistic perspective. Papyrology+ aims to explore new opportunities and directions in the study of ancient…

Greek papyrology is the science that is concerned with deciphering and studying all texts written in Greek on papyrus. Papyrus was the writing material of antiquity and was made from strips of the papyrus plant stuck together.

Anybody can imagine how difficult it is to read a 2000 years old text for the first time. It is almost inevitable that at first mistakes are made in deciphering and interpretation. This is why revision and correction of published texts play an important role within Papyrology.

Just published:

This volume contains the first edition of 66 papyri and ostraca in the collection of the Leiden Papyrological Institute.

Recontextualising the Papyri from Roman Soknopaiou Nesos / Dimê (Fayyum, Egypt)

New Approaches to the Study of Textual Material from the Early Pharaonic to the Late Antique Period

The subjects of the texts vary from Demosthenes to the delivery of camels in early Islamic Egypt, and their provenances stretch from the Eastern to the Western Desert, and from the Egyptian Nile valley to Qasr Ibrim in northern Nubia.

On Tuesday March 26, 2019 the yearly public lecture on papyrology will be held (in Dutch) by Prof. dr. Peter van Minnen (University of Cincinnati), entitled ‘Alexandrië onder keizer Augustus’.

By examining the impact of Islam on the daily life of those living under its rule, the goal of this project is to understand the striking newness of Islamic society and its debt to the diverse cultures it superseded. Questions will be the extent, character, and ambition of Muslim state competency at…

The Leiden Papyrological Institute celebrated its eightieth birthday on Monday 19 January. Its collection of papyri – including paper, potsherds, pieces of wood and even lead – covers the period from 300 B.C. until after 800 A.D. and is entirely of Egyptian origin. The institute’s anniversary is being…

Want to explore a different specialist field? Or maybe study a topic from your programme in more depth? This summer Leiden University is again offering a broad selection of Summer Schools.

All published texts from the Collection of the Leiden Papyrological Institute have now been made available online, including images, translations and metadata. See Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS).

The Leiden Papyrological Institute celebrates its 90th year anniversary

The Women of Ramesside Deir al-Medina

What made the early Islamic empire so successful and have we missed the story by neglecting crucial evidence? The 7th-century Arab conquests changed the socio-political configurations in the Mediterranean and Eurasia forever. Yet we do not really know how the Arabs managed to gain dominance of this…

Cisca Hoogendijk received an NWO Internationalisation in the Humanities Grant for the project 'Text in Context: Recontextualising the papyri from Roman Soknopaiou Nesos / Dime (Fayyum, Egypt)'.

This volume contains the first edition of 66 papyri and ostraca in the collection of the Leiden Papyrological Institute.

This volume contains the edition or re-edition of 52 papyri and ostraca, dating from between the third century BCE and the eighth century CE.

Dit deel bevat de editie of heruitgave van 52 papyri en ostraca, daterend uit de periode tussen de derde eeuw voor Christus en de achtste eeuw na Christus.

The Leiden Papyrological Institute offers several courses in papyrology, from beginners to advanced level, BA as well as MA. The courses are taught by Dr. Koen Donker van Heel (Demotic and Abnormal Hieratic papyrology) and Dr. Joanne Stolk (Greek and Coptic papyrology).

The library of the Papyrological Institute is the most complete facility for papyrological studies in the Netherlands.

Lecture

The Leiden Papyrological Institute is the only papyrological institute in the Netherlands. The members of our staff publish Greek (and Latin), Demotic (and Abnormal-Hieratic) and Coptic papyri from collections all over the world, including our own collection.

Address and contact information.

The foundation of the ‘Leids Papyrologisch Instituut’ took place on 19 January 1935. Prior to then, the founders – J.C. van Oven (1881-1963, Roman Law), B.A. van Groningen (1894-1987, Greek) and M. David (1898-1986, Legal History) – had already been teaching Greek papyrology at Leiden University.

Classics and Ancient Civilizations (Research) covers two years and can be studied in four programmes, one of them is Egyptology. When you choose to study this programme, you will both be guided through the broadness of Egyptological sub-disciplines, as well as gradually led to develop your own specific…

Classics and Ancient Civilizations covers one year and can be studied in four programmes, one of them is Egyptology. When you choose to study this programme, you will both be guided through the broadness of Egyptological sub-disciplines, as well as gradually led to develop your own specific research…

Berichtigungsliste der Griechischen Papyrusurkunden aus Ägypten, Dreizehnter Band. Herausgegeben von F.A.J Hoogendijk und A. Jördens. Zusammengestellt von J.M.S. Cowey und F.A.J. Hoogendijk (Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2017).

Overview of the main research projects at the Leiden Papyrological Institute.

The Ancient Worlds Network brings together staff and graduate students in LIAS working on the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world.

LIAS is comprised of three research schools with expertise in different areas:

An overview of new research project: Politeness in Arabic Papyrus Letters

An overview of a new research project: Politeness in Arabic Papyrus Letters

The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (the NVIC) was founded in 1971. Nine universities in the Netherlands and Flanders participate in the institute with an aim to stimulating internationalisation of their teaching and research activities in the Middle East.

University Lecturer Bert van Den Berg shares about the recent research by The Greek Philosophical Schools project in Italy. The research sheds new light on the life and death of Plato.

The Research MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations covers two years and can be studied in four tracks: Classics is one of them. While diving into the literary, cultural and intellectual worlds of Greece and Rome, you will be involved in current research, and stimulated to reflect on the significance…

The Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) is devoted to the study of places in the human world from antiquity to the present time in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective.

The World of a Mid-Eighth-Century Egyptian Official

Publications of the Leiden Papyrological Institute

The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo is an academic centre providing services for scholars and students from the supporting universities.

This volume, featuring sixteen contributions from leading Roman historians and archaeologists, sheds new light on approaches to the economic history of urban craftsmen and traders in the Roman world, with a particular emphasis on the imperial period.