Скачать или смотреть Oxyrhynchus: The City of Lost Voices

Step into the ancient trash heaps of Oxyrhynchus (modern-day El-Bahnasa), where over 500,000 discarded papyrus fragments have rewritten our understanding of Egypt’s Greco-Roman past. In this episode of Sands of Eternity, host Karim Abosamra uncovers the accidental treasure trove that has given voice to everyday lives, lost literature, and forgotten histories.


Discover:

• How donkey rental contracts, dinner invitations, and even a 2,000-year-old toothpaste recipe reveal the humor, struggles, and humanity of ancient Egyptians.
• The groundbreaking work of archaeologists Grenfell and Hunt, who turned trash into treasure.
• Multispectral imaging and other technologies are used to decode faded texts, including lost plays by Sophocles and early Christian writings.

Why Oxyrhynchus matters :

• It’s a democratic time capsule —no pharaohs here, just ordinary people navigating love, taxes, and family drama.
• A testament to serendipity in archaeology: history preserved by accident in garbage dumps.

Resources for deeper exploration :


"The Oxyrhynchus Papyri" (Egypt Exploration Society)


Next week: We’ll journey to Sais (Sa el-Hagar), the Late Period capital where pharaohs sought divine favor from the creator goddess, Neith. Subscribe now and keep unearthing the past with us!