ABSTRACT
In 1946 a remarkable discovery was made in Gebel el-Tarif, a lofty mountain range east of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt. Beneath Pharaonic tombs hewn half way up the precipitous cliffs, behind the yawning entrance of one of the countless caves, thirteen ancient books or codices were found, eleven complete in their bindings and two further volumes represented by a few scattered leaves from each. In one account of the discovery a huge boulder fell off a slope revealing a rock-cave which was chanced upon by two farmers, Mohammed and Khalifa Ali, residents of the modern village of Qasr wa-el Sayad, near Chenoboskion, an area occupied by a Roman garrison in the fourth century. Inside the cave was a large pottery jar, sealed with bitumen. The brothers, raised in the tradition of Ali Baba and sure that they had chanced upon priceless treasure, broke into it there and then. They were sorely disappointed to find that it contained no more than old books. Nonetheless Mohammed wrapped them up in his robe and took them home. Unaware of their value, he placed them in a corner of the house near the oven, and some loose leaves appear to have been burned as kindling by his mother.
