modern fabrication, largely plagiarised from the Gospel of Thomas. Techniques and exposure In order to attempt to conceal their deception, fraudsters may simply buy ancient papyrus, for example online or in an Egyptian souk. This saves them time and effort on producing fake papyrus, and it results in a credible carbon-14 dating when tested in a laboratory. There are also ways of counterfeiting ink and writing to make the text appear ancient. Therefore, papyrologists generally do not rely on testing the material of questionable fragments, but only consider papyri from documented archaeological excavations and papyri with a verifiable provenance to be authentic. There are ethical codes to discourage the usage of any unprovenanced finds, because these can be the result of fabrication or looting. Whenever undocumented papyri appear, the burden of proof is on those who claim they are authentic. Historical linguistics are often an effective method to expose modern pseudepigrapha. A text can show linguistic anachronisms when compared to known authentic documents from the same historical period, or to be plagiarised. For example, the text from the so-called Gospel of Jesus' Wife (2012) was found to be copied from the Gospel of Thomas. Examples Works commonly considered to be modern pseudepigrapha: The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ (1908) The Archko Volume (1884) Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher) (1751) The Confessions of Pontius Pilate The Crucifixion of Jesus, by an Eyewitness (1907) The Description of Christ Essene Gospel of Peace (1923) Gospel of Jesus' Wife (2012) Gospel of Josephus (1927) The Gospel of the Holy Twelve (1898) The Letter from Heaven (1922) Letter of Benan (1910) Life of Issa (allegedly discovered by Nicolas Notovitch in 1894) The Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles Oahspe (1882) Urantia Book See also Historicity of the Book of Mormon References Further reading Goodspeed, Edgar J. Famous Biblical Hoaxes or, Modern Apocrypha. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1956