How much of Joseph Smiths papyri were recovered?
Joseph Smith had in his possession three or four long scrolls, plus a hypocephalus (Facsimile 2). Of these original materials, only a handful of fragments were recovered at the Metropolitan Museum. The vast majority of the papyri remains lost, and has probably been destroyed. Dr. John Gee (Ph.D., Egyptology, Yale) has presented evidence demonstrating that at least 87% of the original collection is still missing.[2] Dr. Gee used a standard Egyptological calculation for estimating the amount of missing papyrus on a scroll. These calculations rely on how tightly papyrus can be rolled, and measuring the crease marks on the rolled papyrus. Critics who claim that we have all, or a majority, of the papyri possessed by Joseph Smith are simply mistaken.
