Ancient Mummy Found with Iliad Text

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced that a Spanish archaeological mission from the University of Barcelona along with the Institute of the Ancient Near East working at the ancient site of Oxyrhynchus (modern-day Al Bahnasa in Al Minya governorate) have uncovered, on 18 April, a mummy with a fragment of a literary text from Homer’s “The Iliad” placed on his abdomen. The Iliad, an ancient Greek epic poem composed around the late 8th or early 7th century BC and is set during the final weeks of the ten-year Trojan War. This marks the first known instance of a non-ritual literary work used in the mummification process. The discovery dated back approximately 1,600 years to Egypt’s Roman period. The papyrus fragment, though heavily degraded, has been identified as part of the “Catalogue of Ships” from Book II of the ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer. According to Ignasi-Xavier Adiego, a philologist at the University of Barcelona, who is part of the research team, the discovery marks a significant departure from previously known practices. “This is a big development for us,” he said. “Until now, we didn’t know that they… This content is for members only. Visit the site and log in/register to read.The post Ancient Mummy Found with Iliad Text first appeared on Egyptian Streets.