# Archaeologists find fragment of Homer’s Iliad inside Egyptian mummy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462 "2026-04-21T15:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/1 "2026-04-21T15:28:48Z")
Other sources say it’s a fragment. I’m not particularly surprised. Consider how used newspaper is used in homes. Great for puppy training. Newspaper has been used as insulation in inexpensive structures. Maybe morticians have used it to stuff body cavities? Link [Archaeologists stunned to find copy of Homer’s Iliad inside ancient Egyptian mummy | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/egypt-mummy-homer-iliad-gut-b2961509.html) > [@](#): > > Archaeologists have found a papyrus copy of [Homer’s _Iliad_](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/iliad-homer-greek-myths-madeline-miller-b2439877.html) in the gut of an [ancient Egyptian mummy](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/ancient-egypt-mummy-ct-scan-back-pain-b2914306.html), the first time ever that a Greek literary text has been found incorporated into the preservation process. > > The discovery has big implications for our knowledge of [funerary practices](https://www.independent.co.uk/world/ancient-egypt-saqqara-tomb-archaeologists-b2479827.html) and religious life in ancient Egypt. > > The [papyrus fragment](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jesus-had-a-wife-say-scientists-as-ancient-papyrus-scroll-verified-9255110.html) was discovered in the abdomen of a mummy buried in a Roman-era tomb in Oxyrhynchus around 1,600 years ago. > > Oxyrhynchus, known in the Pharaonic times as Per-Medjed, was one of the most important cities of Greco-Roman Egypt. Its remains are in the present-day town of Al-Bahnasa, about 190km south of Cairo, next to the branch of the Nile known as Bahr Yussef. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/2 "2026-04-21T16:39:01Z")
I opened this cause I was confused what an “E-mummy” was. I’m happy to find out it meant “Egyptian”. Whew! Yes, paper, papyrus, leaves, feathers and fabric have stuffed things since humans started needing things to be stuffed. Bodies being stuffed is probably (don’t really know) particular to Mummy making. I’ve taken old quilts apart to repair. You would not believe what people used to “fill” their quilts. I’ve been looking for that missing parchment/vellum of the original constitution. Alas , hasn’t happened yet. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/3 "2026-04-21T16:49:41Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I opened this cause I was confused what an “E-mummy” was. Yep, me too. I was wondering how anyone could electrify a mummy. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/4 "2026-04-21T17:09:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > not particularly surprised. Consider how used newspaper is used in homes. Great for puppy training. Newspaper has been used as insulation in inexpensive structures. Maybe morticians have used it to stuff body cavities? This was about 1,000 years before printed newspapers. This was from a laboriously hand scribed tome written on a relatively expensive medium. Its purpose in this case is almost certainly the same as that for including weapons, jewelry, keepsakes, and other valuables in a burial. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/5 "2026-04-21T17:23:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I opened this cause I was confused what an “E-mummy” was. Lot of long words in the article heading. I was trying to shorten it anyway possible. The heading still uses three lines on my phone screen. It bothers me the writers used “copy” in the Heading/Subject and link. They finally admit it’s a fragment in the article. It was found in the mummy’s gut. I guess absorbing any fluids. I’ve tripled checked that autocorrect doesn’t change mummy to mommy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/6 "2026-04-21T17:23:13Z")
1600 years ago ≈ 400 A.D. IOW, after classical times. A text dating to pre-Roman, early Ptolemaic or especially pre-Ptolemaic era would have been far more significant. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/7 "2026-04-21T17:39:00Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > A text dating to pre-Roman, early Ptolemaic or especially pre-Ptolemaic era would have been far more significant. That’s so [last year.](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/2000-year-old-manuscript-found-wrapped-around-a-mummy-and-the-secrets-inside-are-unbelievable/articleshow/125680245.cms) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/8 "2026-04-21T17:40:49Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > This was about 1,000 years before printed newspapers. This was from a laboriously hand scribed tome written on a relatively expensive medium. Its purpose in this case is almost certainly the same as that for including weapons, jewelry, keepsakes, and other valuables in a burial. Nope, just stuffing. Happened a lot. > **[Client Challenge](https://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/mummy-wrappings-reveal-details-of-ancient-egypt-1147537.php)** > **[Aeschylus Meets the Mummy: 2,500-Year-Old, Lost Greek Trilogy Found Under Wraps](https://playbill.com/article/aeschylus-meets-the-mummy-2-500-year-old-lost-greek-trilogy-found-under-wraps-com-116390)** > > Theatre historians should be grateful the Egyptians were both big readers and fervent recyclers. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/9 "2026-04-21T17:45:57Z")
Paper wasn’t made out of trees back then. It was a papyrus, which I know nothing about. Or it was parchment or vellum which is made from hide. (Really really thin leather, goat I believe.) It wasn’t like they tore up an old book and stuffed in this mummy. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/10 "2026-04-21T17:49:32Z")
I remember reading thrifty medieval monks reused parchment. I can’t remember the documents, but researchers are using lasers to try and recover important writings that the Monk’s ruined with trivial new writing on top. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/11 "2026-04-21T17:52:07Z")
The word you might be thinking of is [Palimpsest - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/12 "2026-04-21T17:54:18Z")
Thank you. It’s been years since I watched the documentaries on scrolls. I remembered the process but not the word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/13 "2026-04-21T18:16:18Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Yep, me too. I was wondering how anyone could electrify a mummy. For some reason, my first association was a binomial, like in taxonomy, such as C. elegans or E. coli… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/14 "2026-04-21T18:19:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Paper wasn’t made out of trees back then. > It was a papyrus, which I know nothing about. > Or it was parchment or vellum which is made from hide. (Really really thin leather, goat I believe.) This mummy was from around 400 AD and paper from trees predates that by hundreds of years. Not all paper is made from trees anyway. Papyrus technically isn’t paper but it is made from a plant and is, of course, similar. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/15 "2026-04-21T18:23:02Z")
Gotcha. But wouldn’t something like the Iliad be on parchment. I mean, the Mummy surely had some status if it was being mummified in the first place. So, no stinkin’ tree paper gonna do. 😊 ETA ..I just Googled (grain of salt) Egyptians didn’t use paper from trees. Papyrus was the thing. Personally I’m gonna start making notes on Ostraca. Those will last awhile. Guess I better take the hammer to the china cupboard. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/16 "2026-04-21T18:30:34Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Yep, me too. I was wondering how anyone could electrify a mummy. Probably with leyden jars. And lightning. It’s alive! It’s alive! ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/17 "2026-04-21T18:36:12Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > It’s alive! It’s alive! channeling Danny Elfman Oooooooo! Weird science! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/18 "2026-04-21T18:47:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Other sources say it’s a fragment. > > I’m not particularly surprised. I’m not surprised either. I assume they weren’t done reading it, and wanted to continue when they got to the other side. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/19 "2026-04-21T19:05:42Z")
As the article briefly mentions towards the end, there is the famous group of papyri fragments that were also discovered at Oxyrhynchus in the late nineteenth century. Oddly enough, [two of those fragments also included parts of the _Illiad_ ship catalogue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyrhynchus_Papyri#Poetry). ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462/20 "2026-04-21T19:24:34Z")
> [@APB](#): > > also discovered at Oxyrhynchus in the late nineteenth century My bio nerd half briefly overpowered my history nerd half. I read that as [Oncorhynchus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncorhynchus) for a second and did a double-take. For the non-cognoscenti rhynchus means beak or snout in Greek so it is incorporated into a ton of scientific animal names. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archaeologists-find-fragment-of-homer-s-iliad-inside-egyptian-mummy/1029462.md?page=2)