Peter Kirby (known to thousands through his Early Christian and Early Jewish Writings sites) has just posted a very interesting blog: The Myth of Nag Hammadi’s Carbon Dating.

Peter’s post is interesting for the subject matter in itself, but also in the way it highlights how ‘urban myths’ can become part of the accepted wisdom of a particular community. Unfortunately academics are no less prone to this than any other group.

Drawing upon evidence from a number of fora and blogs, Peter presents a powerful case study describing how the belief that the Nag Hammadi documents have been examined with C-14 radiometric dating has, for a number of people, become accepted ‘fact.’

The Myth of Nag Hammadi’s Carbon Dating » Peter Kirby.