Ancient Egyptian Mummy Contains First Greek Epic Found in Its Gut

Scientists are stunned to find a piece of Homer's 'Iliad' tucked inside a Roman-era mummy. This epic poem stands as the foundation of Western literature, yet it also served as a required reading for the afterlife. Archaeologists uncovered the text fragment within the gut of an Egyptian mummy dating back 1,600 years. This discovery marks the first instance where a Greek literary work was integrated into the preservation process itself. The find occurred in a Roman tomb located in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus. This site sits 118 miles south of Cairo in a region now called Al-Bahnasa. Researchers explain that the papyrus was placed in the abdomen during the embalming ritual. That ritual involved dehydrating the body and wrapping it for protection in the afterlife. While excavations have previously found Greek writings in mummies, they usually held magical or ritualistic content. Professor Ignasi-Xavier Adiego from the University of Barcelona highlighted this distinction. 'This is not the first time we have found Greek papyri, bundled, sealed, and incorporated into the mummification process, but until now, their content was mainly magical,' he stated. He added that while many important literary texts were found at Oxyrhynchus since the late 19th century, the novelty lies in finding a literary papyrus in a funerary context. The team, including researchers from the Institute of Ancient Near East Studies, located the mummy during a campaign in November and December 2025. They unearthed a funerary complex with three limestone chambers containing Roman-era mummies and decorated wooden sarcophagi. Many of these bodies showed signs of disrepair due to past looting. The specific fragment of Homer's poem was found inside the gut of a mummy in 'Tomb 65'. Closer inspection revealed the papyrus listed ships, which researchers linked directly to the epic poem. The 'Iliad' dates back to 800 BC and is divided into 24 books. It focuses on the Trojan War and the heroic deeds and tragic fate of Achilles. The text found within the mummy comes from Book II, where it lists the Greek contingents that sailed to Troy. Researchers admitted they remain unsure why this specific text was chosen for the preservation process. Roman-era mummification in Oxyrhynchus blended traditional Egyptian, Greek, and Roman customs. Egyptian priests focused on preserving bodies for over 40 days rather than the traditional 70. They used natron salt to dehydrate the bodies and wrapped them in linen. Instead of removing organs and preserving them in canopic jars, they often filled the body with textiles or embalming materials. Previous excavations in the ancient city led to the discovery of 52 mummies dating back over 2,000 years. Of these, 13 had been adorned with gold tongues and fingernails as a symbol of preparation for the afterlife. Archaeologists also uncovered other artifacts of 'great value' including a heart scarab in its original position. They found amulets featuring Egyptian deities such as Horus, Thoth, and Isis. A terracotta figurine of the god Harpocrates was also recovered from the site. Ancient Egyptians believed gold was a divine metal that was everlasting and possessed magical powers. Experts think these ornate tongues allowed the dead to speak with the god of the underworld, Osiris. Long-lost papyrus scripts also found at the Oxyrhynchus site include hangover cures and plays about Moses. One document even details a doctor's report on a drowned slave girl. Some artifacts depict spells and magical formulas that called upon both gods and demons to attain love, sex, and power. These spells required a person to simply add the name of their target to lay a curse. One such spell claims to 'burn the heart' of a woman until she falls in love with the spell caster. Franco Maltomini of the University of Udine in Italy translated the two texts. The ancient hex instructs the reader to leave a 'Burnt offering in the bathhouse' and write with the blood of Typhon. The text says to glue it to the dry vaulted room of the bath. 'I adjure you,' it continues, 'earth and waters, by the demon who dwells on you and the fortune of this bath so that, as you blaze and burn and flame, so blaze her until she comes to me.