A professor from Oxford has been arrested for allegedly stealing and selling ancient biblical texts.

Professor of papyrology and Greek literature Dirk Obbink has been accused of stealing and selling 120 pieces of ancient papyrus with biblical text.

Obbink, who taught at Christ Church Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was arrested on March 2, 2020. He has been accused of taking the fragments from a collection belonging to the Egypt Exploration Society (EES), Christianity Today reports.

The collection contains about 500,000 artifacts found in the ancient city of Oxyrynchus. Obbink was one of three academics overseeing the care of the collection at Oxford's Sackler Library but was removed from this position in 2016.

Obbink released an official statement denying the allegations. He claims the evidence against him is "fabricated in a malicious attempt to harm my reputation and career."

8, "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The piece was considered to be a significant discovery, believed to have been copied within 30 years of the original writing of the Bible. It is now believed the fragment dates back to the second or third century.

The discovery of this piece and its further study took place in 2011 and 2012. Around this time, Obbink allegedly sold 13 bits of papyrus from the Oxyrynchus collection.

s and irreplaceable."