Archaeologists found Homer's Iliad inside a 1,600-year-old Egyptian mummy

Archaeologists at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt discovered a papyrus fragment from Homer's Iliad deliberately placed inside a Roman-era mummy dating to approximately 1,600 years ago, the first known instance of a Greek literary text incorporated into mummification. The fragment, identified as part of the "Catalogue of Ships" from Book II, was found resting on the mummy's abdomen during excavations in November–December 2025 by the University of Barcelona's Oxyrhynchus Archaeological Mission, directed by Maite Mascort and Esther Pons. While Greek papyri of magical or ritual content have previously been discovered in similar funerary contexts at the site, this marks the first time a work of classical literature has been identified serving such a role in the embalming process.