Archaeology breakthrough as experts find something baffling next to 1,600-year-old mummy

Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery after uncovering a fragment of the Iliad hidden inside the abdomen of an ancient Egyptian mummy, marking the first known case of a Greek literary text being used in the mummification process. The incredible find is already reshaping understanding of funerary customs and religious life in ancient Egypt during the Roman period.

The papyrus was discovered in a mummy dating back around 1,600 years, unearthed from a tomb in Oxyrhynchus. The site, once a thriving hub of Greco-Roman culture, lies in modern-day Al-Bahnasa, roughly 120 miles (190km) south of Cairo along a branch of the Nile. Experts from the University of Barcelona made the discovery during an excavation campaign carried out between November and December 2025. What caught their attention was an unusual detail – a papyrus placed directly on the mummy’s abdomen as part of the embalming ritual.

While Greek papyri have been found in mummies before, they have always contained magical or ritual texts – until now.

The newly discovered fragment from the Greek epic poem, The Iliad, attributed to Homer and dating back to around 800BC, is the first literary text ever identified in this context.

The text, which chronicles the events of the Trojan War, centres on the warrior Achilles and explores themes of rage, fate and mortality. The fragment recovered belongs to Book II – specifically the famous “Catalogue of Ships”, listing the Greek forces preparing for battle at Troy.

Researchers say it remains unclear why this passage was selected for use in mummification.

At the time, burial practices in Oxyrhynchus blended Egyptian, Greek and Roman traditions. Bodies were preserved for more than 40 days using natron salts before being wrapped in linen. Rather than storing organs in canopic jars, embalmers often packed the body cavity with treated materials – sometimes including papyri – which were then sealed inside the chest or pelvic area.

Professor Ignasi-Xavier Adiego, a professor in the Department of Classical, Romance and Semitic Languages, explained that although Greek papyri have previously been found incorporated into mummies, their content had always been magical in nature.

"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," he said.

The site has long been a treasure trove for archaeologists. Recent digs have uncovered three limestone burial chambers containing Roman-era mummies and elaborately decorated wooden sarcophagi. Earlier excavations also revealed dozens of Ptolemaic-era mummies, some of which featured distinctive “golden tongues” – believed to help the deceased speak in the afterlife.