News summary produced by Claude AI
Researchers working at the ancient Egyptian site of Oxyrhynchus have uncovered a significant archaeological find: a papyrus fragment containing text from Homer’s Iliad was discovered within a Roman-era mummy approximately 1,600 years old. The discovery represents an unprecedented instance in which a Greek literary work was deliberately placed within the mummification process, according to scholars involved in the project.
The Oxyrhynchus Archaeological Mission, directed by Maite Mascort and Esther Pons through the Institute of Ancient Near East Studies at the University of Barcelona, made the discovery during excavations conducted between November and December 2025. The mummy was located in Tomb 65 of Sector 22 at Al Bahnasa, the modern settlement at the ancient Oxyrhynchus site in Egypt. A papyrus rested deliberately on the mummy’s abdomen as part of the embalming ritual. While previous excavations at the location had uncovered Greek papyri positioned similarly within mummies, those texts had consistently contained magical or ritual content rather than literary material.
Following a second research campaign in January and February 2026, specialists examined and identified the papyrus fragment. Conservator Margalida Munar, papyrologist Leah Mascia, and classical philologist Ignasi-Xavier Adiego determined that the text derives from the “Catalogue of Ships” in Book II of Homer’s Iliad, a renowned passage that enumerates the Greek forces assembled for the Trojan War.
Oxyrhynchus, located approximately 190 kilometers south of Cairo, has long served as a significant archaeological site in Greco-Roman Egypt. The excavations revealed a funerary complex comprising three limestone burial chambers containing Roman-era mummies and decorated wooden sarcophagi, though numerous tombs had sustained damage from historical looting. The University of Barcelona’s Oxyrhynchus Archaeological Mission, which began in 1992, continues as one of Spain’s most established archaeological projects in Egypt, receiving support from multiple institutions and Egyptian authorities.