Archaeologists Find Homer’s Iliad Papyrus Inside a Mummy in Egypt

Key Points:

• An Egyptian-Spanish archaeological team led by Dr. Maite Mascort and Dr. Ester Pons Mellado uncovered a rare Roman-era tomb at El-Bahnasa (ancient Oxyrhynchus) in Egypt’s Minya Governorate, revealing diverse funerary practices including mummies wrapped in decorated linens and placed in painted wooden coffins.
• Among the significant discoveries were three gold tongues and one copper tongue placed in the mouths of the deceased, believed to be part of rituals to enable the dead to speak before divine beings in the afterlife, along with gold leaf traces indicating special post-mortem treatment.
• A rare papyrus containing a passage from Book II of Homer’s Iliad, specifically the “Catalogue of Ships,” was found inside one mummy, underscoring the cultural influence of Greek literature in Roman Egypt.
• Excavations uncovered three limestone chambers with cremated human and animal remains, textile fragments, and terracotta and bronze figurines representing Egyptian and Greco-Roman deities, highlighting complex burial rituals combining multiple religious traditions.
• Additional nearby tombs revealed more mummies and painted coffins in hypogea, though many remains showed damage from ancient looting, emphasizing the archaeological and historical importance of the site.