Oxyrhynchus (El-Bahnasa) – City of Papyri
Oxyrhynchus · El-Bahnasa · Per-Medjed · Pemje
Pharaonic / Graeco-Roman·Egyptian / Greek / Roman·🇪🇬 Minya Governorate, Fayyum south, Bahr Yussef desert edge, Egypt
About
About Oxyrhynchus (El-Bahnasa) – City of Papyri
Nome capital whose rubbish mounds yielded 500,000+ Greek papyri (Grenfell & Hunt 1896–1906) – Sappho, Menander, Gospel of Thomas. Fish-mummy cult of Toeris, Sarapis temple, theatre, Nilometer; dunes covering 5×3 km tell.
Why it mattersSignificant regional centre illustrating cultural transition.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology refinement
- 02Function of enclosures
Theories
- 01Trade corridor model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Old Kingdom Per-Medjed; Graeco-Roman metropolis Ptolemy I; Christian centre 4th c
- Period
- Pharaonic / Graeco-Roman
- Culture
- Egyptian / Greek / Roman
- Purpose
- Regional centre / fortified town and trade node
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Old Kingdom Per-Medjed; Graeco-Roman metropolis Ptolemy I; Christian centre 4th c
Initial construction
c. 1542 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
28.5392° N · 30.6692° E · 35 m · 2 mapped features
Papyrus Mounds (Kôm)
moundDumps 10 m high where papyri found
28.5395° N · 30.6695° ECult Temple of Thoeris
templeTemple of hippopotamus goddess
28.5388° N · 30.6688° E
Gallery