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[QUERENT] Oxyrhynchus Papyri

[SYSTEM] The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a massive collection of ancient manuscripts discovered in the garbage dumps of [Oxyrhynchus](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAV1fJTkWvepNpdXcz1FTiTgD2TzJwnIKqlxQFWjqxxST5AeBjCcgJmhPj-Yeh05uZsMeRxIHIalxaCwxJ87W6W-qZRqSMOxT4Ur_-Oy_ULiJ4bJ0OVBS0Zjyw_aPuj2G39H4nt) (modern Bahnasa, Egypt) by Oxford classicists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt between 1896 and 1907. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESXQHrOzAVWTfiKDhi_GJUj_uCo4kUTMWJJXuVSBQUu_Lg7Xas6cMOsaeYL9aDLy_7Jt2NwHGqf99n5gM4jYe68B1BQT0NTj1hYis8EJ5-zVK9I8hr9HFxQ7v5dLbddg), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAVHKYeH9MMOplsy2m6M44I_4dCdnkJnBpHYOOwiByTHyQ4i_srIQAehR0skIX88lDj2lRGXN1jGRnbOlgKOBEQHQYTsDWaMSohG_vs1oDa7QMj2izXiybQ-EGriN_4cGfTQlCl)]
Key Facts

* The Collection: Housed primarily at the University of Oxford and managed by the [Egypt Exploration Society (EES)](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESZQHrOzAVE-J-BtE30aDuAYi0uEyXPmirrIaBMLmyKzpD07kyURlmolMbCscrpm40yzKQJKL7O40kms8UP2V7SedqBYyQjJ4_UJOsZZId4RrYO6yNyeJRCPkvRkVZygiyzBuffcQq), it is the largest archive of its kind in the world, containing an estimated 500,000 fragments. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESZQHrOzAVE-J-BtE30aDuAYi0uEyXPmirrIaBMLmyKzpD07kyURlmolMbCscrpm40yzKQJKL7O40kms8UP2V7SedqBYyQjJ4_UJOsZZId4RrYO6yNyeJRCPkvRkVZygiyzBuffcQq)]
* Time Period: The texts date from the 3rd century BCE (Ptolemaic period) through the 7th century CE (early Islamic period). [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAV1fJTkWvepNpdXcz1FTiTgD2TzJwnIKqlxQFWjqxxST5AeBjCcgJmhPj-Yeh05uZsMeRxIHIalxaCwxJ87W6W-qZRqSMOxT4Ur_-Oy_ULiJ4bJ0OVBS0Zjyw_aPuj2G39H4nt)]
* Languages: Most texts are in Greek, with others written in Latin, ancient Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAV1fJTkWvepNpdXcz1FTiTgD2TzJwnIKqlxQFWjqxxST5AeBjCcgJmhPj-Yeh05uZsMeRxIHIalxaCwxJ87W6W-qZRqSMOxT4Ur_-Oy_ULiJ4bJ0OVBS0Zjyw_aPuj2G39H4nt), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESZQHrOzAVE-J-BtE30aDuAYi0uEyXPmirrIaBMLmyKzpD07kyURlmolMbCscrpm40yzKQJKL7O40kms8UP2V7SedqBYyQjJ4_UJOsZZId4RrYO6yNyeJRCPkvRkVZygiyzBuffcQq)]
* Content Mix:
   * 90% are public and private administrative or daily-life documents (tax receipts, census lists, legal contracts, school lessons, and personal letters).
   * 10% are literary and religious works, including lost plays, classical poetry (Sappho, Pindar), early Christian gospels, and biblical fragments (such as Papyrus 52 and the Gospel of Thomas). [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAV3AkYZZ6_E9c1Z1gK8am8fB58ergTxfRgVZdVFAKTSgp8ZAxmxuxaV2yOT3rHjRT-mKnbopypuYgCFLYYsn-Rc5heeiE0xYyBE9qybVBA4T2_MBhd9jdiPE6VJrW7ayvXEYb0), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaQHrOzAVl2E1gpiHyEMJ18-sHk5UsROGGNTpRBLADPBaGjg31HFKL1iPGqcKKU2dH2YBuM5N2HbPVzSsPQfH9a_KSflpHvP9tYntDxdBTpoKHSTgb7RihDcHQIA4vwpYP5bB1gaBPBGc_A), [3](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAV1fJTkWvepNpdXcz1FTiTgD2TzJwnIKqlxQFWjqxxST5AeBjCcgJmhPj-Yeh05uZsMeRxIHIalxaCwxJ87W6W-qZRqSMOxT4Ur_-Oy_ULiJ4bJ0OVBS0Zjyw_aPuj2G39H4nt)]
* Publication Status: Scholars have continuously transcribed and published the texts in a multi-volume series since 1898 (reaching over 80 volumes), which still represents only a small fraction of the total find. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESawHrOzAVRaXaArOZMpQWIg9J5-5JgWj3zvaw_ZzEK8hI3V9WyUIHiN_x-yQ6uObIEio0kxgYXFEAkQEoZX7Ew0bbHKkll5BzMnV9AUpeNoYnqjKmM39IPpHjwfuyGXU4flgG9r_wi7EkR-P2), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESXQHrOzAVWTfiKDhi_GJUj_uCo4kUTMWJJXuVSBQUu_Lg7Xas6cMOsaeYL9aDLy_7Jt2NwHGqf99n5gM4jYe68B1BQT0NTj1hYis8EJ5-zVK9I8hr9HFxQ7v5dLbddg)]

Would you like to know more about specific literary discoveries (like Sappho or early Christian texts) or how to search the digital transcription archives?
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Home
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri collection, belonging to the Egypt Exploration Society and housed in Oxford's Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library, comprises thous...
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