In 1896 Oxford scholars Bernard Grenfell (1869-16-12 - 1926-18-05), British Egyptologist and papyrologist, and Arthur Surridge Hunt (March 1, 1871 - June 18, 1934), British archaeologist, paleographer and papyrologist, drew attention to the fact that the arid soil of Oxyrinha in Egypt, as well as the absence of settlements on the site of the ancient city, contributed to the preservation of a huge number of papyri, many of which literally lay underfoot. Since then, excavations have been going on there almost continuously.
At that time, papyri were not appreciated by the locals. Plus, torn and broken, they were treated like trash. The attitude towards papyri in antiquity was completely different. Papyri was highly regarded as a material. And papyrus, already used and written, was reused. Something similar happened with the parchments. Old and unnecessary parchments were cleaned out and written again. This is how twice used papyri (and parchments) became historical documents from two different eras. Scientists from the University of Oxford did not ignore not only the whole pieces, but also the smallest fragments. Each of the fragments was photographed and transferred into a modern paper envelope. Thus, thousands of folders with fragments of the Oxyrinch papyri have accumulated (transferred to the British Museum for study and preservation).
Bernard Grenfell.
Arthur Surridge Hunt.
The texts read surprised even scientists. These were private archives, literary works, household records and concluded contracts. Among them are marriage contracts, wills, prayers, texts from the original Christian gospels. The latter overshadowed the importance of rediscovered secular and literary sources for religiously minded and overly pious believers.
A large group of manuscripts was discovered, including thousands of Greek and Latin documents, letters and literary works. In addition to papyri, there are manuscripts on thin parchment, and later, Arabic - on paper (for example, medieval P. Oxy. VI 1006).
This group of manuscripts, discovered by archaeologists near Oksirinh in Egypt, was called the Oksirinh papyri.
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Among the Oxyrinchian papyri - fragments of the lost works of Sappho, Pindar, Ivik, Sophocles, Euripides, the play of Menander, the continuation of Thucydides by an unknown author, a retelling of the lost books of Titus Livy, as well as numerous early Christian texts ("Oxyrinchian gospels," including the Gospel of Thomas) …
Papyri became a source for studying the social history of Egypt in Roman times. The economic archive of the Apion family is of great importance for the study of large land tenure in Byzantine Egypt.