Why Was Papyrus of the Ancient Greek Epic "Iliad" Stuffed into an Egyptian Mummy?

Archaeologists found a fragment of Homer’s Iliad inside the abdomen of a mummy from Oxyrhynchus, Egypt.

Researchers say the papyrus was likely reused as cheap packing material, not placed there for symbolic reasons.

The find suggests the Iliad circulated widely in Roman Egypt and could be treated as everyday material.

It offers new clues about literacy, book use, and cultural exchange across the ancient Mediterranean.