Archaeologists discover Roman-era tomb and Homeric papyrus in Egypt

A joint Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission from the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Ancient Near East, led by Dr. Maite Mascort and Dr. Ester Pons Mellado, has unearthed a rare Roman-era tomb in El-Bahnasa, historically known as Oxyrhynchus. The excavations, conducted east of Ptolemaic Tomb 67, revealed limestone chambers containing several mummies. Some mummies were wrapped in linen with geometric patterns, while others were placed in painted wooden sarcophagi. The team discovered three gold tongues and one copper tongue inside the mouths of the deceased, alongside traces of gold leaf. Experts believe these items were part of funerary rituals intended to assist the dead in the afterlife. Additionally, a rare papyrus containing an excerpt from the Second Rhapsody of Homer's Iliad, specifically the 'Catalogue of Ships', was found within one of the mummies. The discovery provides significant insight into the burial customs of the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the Minya region.