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Oxyrhynchus (el-Bahnasa, Per-Medjed)-: the Roman town

(28°32' N 30°40'E)

Capital of the 19th Upper Egyptian nome. The main deities were Seth and Taoris. Nothing remains from the Egyptian town, while the late Roman town was in the 19th century still well preserved. The site is well-known for its many (mainly Greek) papyri.

 

Roman wall painting
Greek papyri
a plan
Arabic manuscripts
UC 65055
UC 32071
objects of daily life
fragments of architecture
pottery
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UC 16801
UC 65000

the theatre

Excavations:

  • around 1896/7 - 190? - B. P. Grenfeld and A. S. Hunt 'excavated' at the site mainly to find papyri, architectural remains were ignored
  • 1910 - Societa italiana per la ricerca dei papiri greci e latini in Egitto
  • 1922 - Petrie, mainly concentrating on the theatre and the cemetery
  • between 1928 and 1932 - Breccia excavated several private houses, two seasons at the site
  • 1982 and later Egyptian Antiquities Service
  • 1985 - 87 Kuwaiti team concentrating on the mediaeval town
  • 1992 and later: Catalan mission

Further reading:

  • Alston 2002: 262-268 (on the town in general, including a hypothetical map following descriptions in papyri)

 

 

Oxyrhynchus on a map of Egypt


 

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