Thanks to both of you for mentioning both the scrolls and the Nash papyrus--although I was born again nearly four decades ago and have always been a diligent Bible student, somehow they had escaped my attention and I was completely ignorant of them. Ignorant no more, thanks to you both!
You’re very, very welcome. The Nash Papyrus has been around for awhile, but the silver scrolls are part of an exciting group of finds in recent decades. If you get time, you might want to look up such things as the Deir Alla inscription, the Goliath shard, the finds at Khirbet Qeiyafa, and the Tel Dan inscription, among others.
Patience and painstaking work indeed.
I collect old documents. One of the items that I have is an unopened Coptic scroll from Ethiopia. It probably dates from somewhere between the 1400’s and the 1800’s—most likely toward the latter end of that period. Once I retire (which won’t be long) I intend to unroll it, perhaps using a similar technique that I once used in softening dried insects for mounting. Since it is papyrus, not silver, I’m hoping that a couple of months will be a sufficient amount of time. It could take more time, since I intend to sleep late once I retire.