After completing his studies at the Collegium Romanum, he lived for some time at Orvieto, where he was engaged in teaching and palaeographical studies.
In 1859 the twelve volumes of his vast Denkmciler aus Agypten and Athiopien were finished, supplemented later by a text prepared from the note-books of the expedition; they comprise its entire archaeological, palaeographical and historical results.
It is usually said that this MS., like A, came originally from Egypt, but this is merely a palaeographical guess, for which there is no real evidence.
So far back as it can be traced it is, therefore, an Alexandrian MS., and palaeographical arguments point in the same direction.
This was Lumby's revised date, but the progress of palaeographical studies has made it possible to demonstrate that MSS.
Very interesting examples of Israelite written inscriptions on potsherds, dating from the 9th century B.C. and probably from the reign of Ahab, were found that are of great palaeographical importance.