A section of Homer’s Iliad, written on a papyrus fragment, was found inside a mummy during recent excavations of a Roman-era tomb in the el-Bahnasa area of Egypt’s Minya Governorate.
The section is from Homer’s “Catalogue of Ships” from the Iliad's second book explained Hisham el-Leithy, Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, which details all those who participated in the mythical Greek campaign against Troy.
Leithy added that the discovery provides new insights into the funerary practices in Bahnasa during the Greek and Roman periods and “adds an important literary and historical dimension to the site.”
The find, announced by the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry on Saturday, was made by a Spanish archaeological mission affiliated with the University of Barcelona.
Several other mummies, three golden tongues, and a tongue made of copper were also discovered during excavations.
Some of the mummies were found in wrappings decorated with geometric patterns, the ministry said, while others bore evidence of gold leaf having been used in the decoration.
Several painted wooden coffins were also uncovered inside an underground burial chamber at the site, noted Hassan Amer, a professor of archaeology at Cairo University and one of the mission leaders.
However, he added that they were "in a state of deterioration as a result of being looted in ancient times."
The discovery, according to Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, “reflects the richness and diversity of Egyptian civilization across the ages."
Human remains, statuettes of Roman, Greek gods found nearby
Additionally, during excavations at a nearby site in 2024, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a trench housing three limestone chambers, said Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities' Egyptian Antiquities Sector.
Inside the first chamber, archaeologists found a stone slab, a large jar containing the burnt remains of an adult, and the bones of an infant and a feline animal wrapped in pieces of fabric.
The second chamber was similarly home to a jar containing the remains of two individuals and the bones of another feline.
Badie did not note if anything was found in the third chamber.
He did add that small terracotta and bronze statuettes had been found to the south of the site, including those depicting Harpocrates, the Hellenistic interpretation of Egypt’s Horus the Child, as a knight, and Cupid, the Roman deity of desire.