The Oxyrhynchus Archaeological Mission, run by the Institute of Ancient Near East Studies (IPOA) at the University of Barcelona and led by Maite Mascort and Esther Pons, has identified a papyrus containing a fragment of Homer’s Iliad inside a Roman-era tomb dating to approximately 1,600 years ago, in the Egyptian town of Al Bahnasa, ancient Oxyrhynchus. The discovery is exceptional: it is the first time in the history of archaeology that a Greek literary text has been found deliberately incorporated into the mummification process.
During the campaign carried out between November and December 2025, Núria Castellano’s team discovered a Roman-era mummy in Tomb 65 of Sector 22 that featured an unusual element: a papyrus placed on the abdomen as part of the embalming ritual. In previous campaigns, the Oxyrhynchus Archaeological Mission had already documented papyri written in Greek in similar positions, but all contained magical or ritualistic content. A literary text such as the Iliad had never before been found in this context.
In a campaign in January and February 2026, the papyrus was analysed by conservator Margalida Munar, papyrologist Leah Mascia, and Ignasi-Xavier Adiego, a professor at the Department of Classical, Romance and Semitic Languages, a classical philologist and director of the Oxyrhynchus project. Based on Leah Mascia’s reading, Professor Adiego identified the text as belonging to the catalogue of ships in Book II of Homer’s Iliad — the famous passage listing the Greek forces before Troy — one of the most iconic texts in Western literature.
Professor Adiego explains: “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. 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.”
The discovery was made at the Al Bahnasa necropolis, the Egyptian site identified with ancient Oxyrhynchus, one of the most important cities of Greco-Roman Egypt, located approximately 190 kilometres south of Cairo, next to the branch of the Nile known as Bahr Yussef. The excavation has revealed a funerary complex comprising three limestone chambers in which Roman-era mummies and decorated wooden sarcophagi were found, many of them in a state of disrepair due to past looting.
The UB’s Oxyrhynchus Archaeological Mission was launched in 1992, led by Professor Josep Padró. It is one of the Spanish archaeological missions with the longest and most consistent track record in Egypt. The Oxyrhynchus project led by the IPOA has concluded its latest campaign — carried out between November 2025 and February 2026 — with finds of exceptional historical and archaeological significance.
The mission is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the University of Barcelona, the Palarq Foundation, the Catalan Egyptology Society and AIXA Serveis Arqueològics, as well as receiving cooperation from the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt and Cairo University.
The findings from the latest campaign are being presented to the public in a series of lectures that began on 13 April and will conclude on 11 May 2026 at 6.30 p.m. in the Gabriel Oliver room at the UB’s Faculty of Philology and Communication. The series includes presentations on archaeology, anthropology and restoration by various members of the team.