1,500-year-old Papyrus referring to Last Supper found

An ancient piece of papyrus, thought to be the first ever found to refer to the Last Supper, has been found by a researcher looking through the vaults of a library at the University of Manchester.

On one side, it has a combination of biblical passages from the books of Psalms and Matthew, while on the other is part of a receipt for payment of grain tax.

Dr Mazza said the amulet maker “would have cut a piece of the receipt, written the charm on the other side and then folded the papyrus to be kept in a locket”.

She said the use of written charms was an ancient Egyptian practice, which was adopted by early Christians, who replaced prayers to Egyptian and Greco-Roman gods with passages from the Bible.

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Story: BBC News | Photo: University of Manchester