February 16, 2026
Scrolls vs. cookies: fight!
1,300-year-old world chronicle unearthed in Sinai
Scholars cheer, readers rage at cookie walls, and everyone asks: where’s the translation
TLDR: Scholars uncovered an early 8th‑century Christian chronicle on the rise of Islam and 7th‑century wars, now being prepared for translation. The crowd’s split between cookie‑wall rage, Wikipedia quick fixes, and impatient calls for open access—especially for details on the Balkans—making access, not just discovery, the drama.
A 1,300-year-old Christian chronicle just dropped from the Sinai desert, and the internet promptly split into three camps: the linkers, the click-ragers, and the “let us read it now” crowd. One commenter coolly dropped a Wikipedia link to the newly nicknamed Maronite Chronicle of 713, while another lit up the thread over cookie consent pop-ups, calling it a “thousands of clicks” nightmare. It’s Indiana Jones meets a GDPR boss fight.
Meanwhile, the real thirst is for access. A fired-up reader demanded to know when non-scholars get to read it—especially the parts on the Balkans and northern Europe. Good news: this early 8th-century Christian take covers seventh-century chaos, from the Byzantine–Sasanian wars to the rise of Islam, and even glances at the Balkans, Sicily, and Rome. The bad news: the text survives only in a messy 13th-century copy with glued pages. Scholars used ultra-sharp scans to piece it together, and researcher Adrian Pirtea is prepping a full edition and translation. Patience, mortals.
The spiciest spark? A quoted passage about the fall of Persia that had readers debating tone and bias—a reminder that this is a Christian perspective from a community once aligned with Constantinople. Verdict: massive historical win, with the comments dominated by cookie-wall fury, Wikipedia lifelines, and chants of open access now.
Key Points
- •An early 8th-century Christian chronicle (c. AD 712–713) was identified at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt.
- •The manuscript, originally in Syriac and later in Arabic, survives as an incomplete 13th-century copy with glued pages.
- •Digitisation by the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library and access via the Sinai Manuscripts Digital Library enabled detailed study.
- •The chronicle covers seventh-century events including the Byzantine–Sasanian War, the rise of Islam, and Arab-Byzantine conflicts.
- •Adrian Pirtea is preparing a critical edition and full translation; the work may relate to a lost eighth-century source.