We have verified examples of publication conditions, preservation restrictions and permission requirements. We have also found publicly released research data and named published translations. We have not established a worldwide list of untranslated scrolls or evidence that an institution is suppressing a particular doctrine. A lead is an unanswered question with a source, not a finding of concealment.
Our current translation graph has a limited denominator
Its zero “confirmed untranslated works” refers only to the 22 source-list labels we checked. It does not mean all ancient manuscripts have been translated. The six research leads here expand the investigation without mixing corpus counts, fragments, surviving passages and complete works.
Six different gaps to record
Untranslated
Readable surviving text with no located translation in the specified language after a documented bibliographic check.
Unpublished
No located published edition; private scholarly work or a dissertation may still exist.
Unread / undeciphered
Writing survives but cannot yet be reliably read. Imaging or language work may come before translation.
Lost / damaged
The physical words are absent or illegible. A translation cannot recover certain wording that has not survived.
Access-limited
Images, originals or editions exist but access has stated conditions or remains unconfirmed.
Permission-limited
Reading is available, while republication, translation rights or redistribution require permission.
High · identify actual candidates
Oxyrhynchus · publication backlog and assignment rules
A large papyrus collection; fragments are not independent complete books.
Already available
EES reports more than 500,000 fragments and about 6,000 published texts, with English translations and commentary. Those are different counting units, so they cannot produce an untranslated percentage.
What is still missing
A current inventory of unpublished, unassigned and untranslated items has not been obtained. Unpublished does not prove that no scholar has translated a text.
Documented restriction or barrier
EES uses five-year publication assignments, renewable when justified. Its policy requires first publication of the relevant Greek and Latin excavation texts in the EES series. This is a documented publication condition; its effect on a particular item needs confirmation.
Next action
Ask for exact inventory numbers, assignment dates, current editions, access alternatives and image licences. Inquiry sent 5 November 2026.
Herculaneum · recovering writing before translating it
Named carbonised Greek scrolls and surviving portions; not a single religious canon.
Already available
The Vesuvius Challenge announced a complete virtual reading of the surviving PHerc. 1667 roll in June 2026. Diamond Light Source reports 20 columns from that roll and more than 70 recovered columns from PHerc. 172.
What is still missing
Other sealed or partly recovered writing still requires imaging, surface recovery and specialist reading. The data browser has individual sample records; its recovery percentages must not be read as percentages translated into English.
Documented restriction or barrier
Technical recovery and physical fragility are documented barriers. Public data releases exist. The sources reviewed do not establish deliberate suppression of a religious teaching.
Next action
Start with the released PHerc. 1667 and PHerc. 172 records. Match Greek readings to the latest scholarly edition and check English translation coverage and dataset-specific rights before republication. No new custodian email sent for this lead.
Gāndhārī Buddhist scrolls · an edition-by-edition check
Birch-bark scrolls in several collections; the research project is not custodian of every original.
Already available
Washington’s project lists named published translations, including the Rhinoceros Sūtra, British Library Kharoṣṭhī Fragment 5B, and other texts in the Gandhāran Buddhist Texts series.
What is still missing
Its work-in-progress list includes British Library Fragment 28. The page contains older bibliography, so that entry is a lead to verify, not proof that Fragment 28 remains untranslated in 2026.
Documented restriction or barrier
No item-specific refusal or current publication embargo has been established in this review.
Next action
A request was sent on 5 November for current publication status, a manuscript-to-edition concordance, exact remaining translation candidates and custodian referrals.
Dead Sea Scrolls · editions, fragments and imaging coverage
An ancient composition, its manuscript copies and the fragments of each copy require separate records.
Already available
IAA identifies the 40-volume Discoveries in the Judaean Desert publication series. Its imaging guide distinguishes plate-based digital fragment numbers from manuscript-based edition numbers.
What is still missing
For 4Q203, selected Enoch and Jubilees witnesses, 1QM, 1Q20 and 4Q271, we still need exact image-to-edition mappings and passage-level coverage. No wholly untranslated work among these targets has been verified.
Documented restriction or barrier
IAA’s public terms permit single copies for private use but require prior written permission for reproduction, public display, modification or distribution. Public viewing and republication are separate.
Next action
Match witness, fragment, column and line to a named translation. Request the lawful imaging set, edition concordance and reuse terms; keep losses and editorial reconstruction visible.
Qur’an manuscripts · translated scripture and particular witnesses
The Arabic scripture and its modern translations are separate from the content preserved on a particular ancient folio.
Already available
Surah Nuh 71 is publicly readable in Arabic and named English translations. Birmingham provides free private-study images of its fragment.
What is still missing
We need a verified selection of early witnesses actually preserving Surah 71 and Hud 11:25–49, with folio identifiers, transcriptions and variants. We do not assume the Birmingham fragment contains those passages.
Documented restriction or barrier
Birmingham restricts original consultation for preservation; a strong written research case may be considered. Publication-image requests go through its imaging service. These are stated university access rules, not evidence about all Muslim institutions.
Next action
The Birmingham and Corpus Coranicum inquiries ask for actual verse coverage, current custodians, existing translations and public-use permissions. No claim of an untranslated entire Qur’an is supported.
Our named ancient works · translations located, access incomplete
The existing 22-label register includes overlapping labels and one artifact.
Already available
Nineteen source labels have a located English translation, one has an artifact interpretation and two need identification. The Book of Giants and MUL.APIN have identified scholarly English editions.
What is still missing
The main immediate gaps include full-edition access, exact surviving passage coverage and the identity of the generic Nippur and Vatican labels. The register does not establish that every fragment of every work has been translated.
Documented restriction or barrier
Publisher and library access routes can limit what this project has obtained. These are different from physical text loss or the absence of any translation.
Next action
Use the original register for each title and the public desk for the requests and response summaries. Confirm an exact surviving untranslated passage before commissioning a new translation.
First establish a stable shelfmark and current custody. Obtain lawful usable images, assess whether the script can be read, and search for existing editions in all relevant languages. Have a qualified specialist identify the exact readable passages lacking the target-language translation. Confirm permissions and independent review before commissioning work. No new translation, imaging job or purchase is authorized by the inquiries on this desk.
How a restriction becomes an accountable public record
Record the institution, affected item, date, exact public rule, stated reason, duration and review route. Ask whether free alternatives exist. Where a published commitment appears inconsistent with a documented decision, present both precisely and invite correction. Keep an unanswered request, a refusal, a technical obstacle and evidence of deliberate concealment as separate findings.
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