Archaeologists make stunning discovery inside ancient Egyptian mummy

Archaeologists working in central Egypt have made an unusual discovery inside an ancient burial in Oxyrhynchus, in the Minya region.

The excavation, led by a joint team from the University of Barcelona and the Institute of the Ancient Near East, unearthed mummies from a Roman-era necropolis. Among the findings were several mummies, including three with gold tongues and another with a copper tongue.

One mummy, however, stood out from the rest.

Inside it, researchers found a fragment of papyrus placed on the abdomen. The text comes from Homer’s The Iliad, the ancient Greek epic traditionally dated to the 8th century BC and divided into 24 books.

The fragment has been identified as part of the 'catalogue of ships' in Book II, which lists the Greek forces gathered before the Trojan War.

Researchers say it is still unclear why this specific passage was included with the burial or what significance it may have held.

University of Barcelona

"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," Ignasi-Xavier Adiego, a professor in the department of classical, romance and semitic languages, shared in a statement.

"Furthermore, it is worth noting that since the late 19th century, a huge number of papyri have been discovered at Oxyrhynchus, including Greek literary texts of great importance, but the real novelty is finding a literary papyrus in a funerary context."

You should also read...

• Second Sphinx and vast underground megastructure found in Egypt say scientists
• Archaeologists discover the lost 'Book of the Dead' buried for thousands of years

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