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Cairo (dpa) - The 1600 year-old Gospel of Judas scrolls are to be returned to Egypt after 36 years abroad, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny announced on Wednesday.
The 13 papyrus scrolls, dating back to the 3rd or 4th century, are written in ancient Coptic and wrapped in a thick leather covering, according to the head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, Zahi Hawas.
The scrolls of the Gospel of Judas, also known as the Lost Gospel, were trafficked out of Egypt in the 1970s after being unearthed in the desert in the southern province of Menya by an Egyptian peasant.
In 2000, the Swiss Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art bought the scrolls, which were then in a bad condition, from a dealer. In an agreement with Hawas, the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery then bought the scrolls from the Swiss foundation for two million dollars.
The two institutes conserved, authenticated and translated the scrolls to return them to Egypt where they are to be put on display at the Coptic Museum, Hawas said.
The Gospel of Judas gives a different insight into the relationship between Jesus and Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
In contrast to the account provided by the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which Judas is said to have handed Jesus in to the Romans for 30 silver pieces, this Gospel claims that Judas did so on the latter's orders, Hawwas explained .
This Gospel is not recognized by Christian churches and its author is anonymous.
The 13 scrolls are the only known surviving copy of the Gospel thought to have been copied from an earlier text that appeared in 180 AD written in ancient Greek.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
