List of papyri from ancient Egypt

Photo of ancient papyrus document, showing vertical and horizontal striations from the strips of pith of the papyrus plant.

This list of papyri from ancient Egypt includes some of the better known individual papyri written in hieroglyphs, hieratic, demotic or in ancient Greek. Excluded are papyri found abroad or containing Biblical texts which are listed in separate lists.

The content descriptions are preceded by a letter in bold font, indicating the literary genre it belongs to. In the case of collections of texts of various kinds, the first letter refers to the most important text on the papyrus.

  • B : biographical
  • D : drawings: cartoons, maps
  • F : funerary: Books of the Dead
  • L : literary texts: tales, poems
  • O : official records
  • P : private papyri, correspondence, contracts
  • R : religious, myths
  • S : scientific: mathematical, medical
  • T : teachings, instructions
  • W : wordlists
Name Date:
century BCE		 Content Institution Ref # City Country
Diary of Merer 26th O - stone transport to the Great Pyramid of Giza Egyptian Museum [1] Cairo Egypt
Abusir Papyri 25th or later O - about Neferirkare Kakai
Moscow Mathematical Papyrus 21st S - Mathematical problems and solutions Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Moscow Russia
Berlin Papyrus 21st or later S - Medical and mathematical topics Egyptian Museum of Berlin P. Berlin 6619 Berlin Germany
Dramatic Ramesseum Papyrus 20th R - Religious drama British Museum P. BM EA 10610,2 London UK
Westcar Papyrus 20th L - Tales of Magic Egyptian Museum of Berlin P. Berlin 3033 Berlin Germany
Heqanakht Papyri 20th P - Private Correspondence of Heqanakht Metropolitan Museum of Art 22.3 New York City United States
Papyrus Hermitage 1116A
Papyrus Moscow,
Papyrus Carlsberg 6 		20th or later T - Instruction of Merikare
P. Leningrad 1115 20th or later L - Tale of the shipwrecked sailor Russian Museum P. Leningrad 1115 Moscow Russia
Prisse Papyrus 20th or later T - Instruction addressed to Kagemni
The Maxims of Ptahhotep 		Bibliothèque Nationale Paris France
Papyrus Berlin 3023
Papyrus Berlin 3025
Papyrus Berlin 10499 		20th or later L - The Eloquent Peasant P. Berlin 3023
P. Berlin 3025
P. Berlin 10499 		Berlin Germany
Papyrus Butler 527 20th or later L - The Eloquent Peasant British Museum P. BM 10274 London UK
Papyrus Berlin 3024 20th or later L - Dispute between a man and his Ba, Herdsman's Tale P. Berlin 3024 Berlin Germany
Hearst Papyrus 20th or later S - Medical texts University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA United States
Rhind Mathematical Papyrus 19th or later S - Mathematical problems and solutions British Museum pBM 10057, pBM 10058 London UK
Kahun Papyri 19th S - Mathematical and medical topics University College London London UK
Papyrus Berlin 3022 19th B (?)- Story of Sinuhe P. Berlin 3022 Berlin Germany
Ramesseum medical papyri 18th S - Medical texts
Papyrus Boulaq 18 18th O - palace administration Cairo Egypt
London Medical Papyrus 18th S - Medical texts British Museum pBM 10059 London UK
Reisner Papyrus 18th O - official records
Ipuwer Papyrus 17th T - The Admonitions of Ipuwer Rijksmuseum van Oudheden Papyrus Leiden I 344 Leiden Netherlands
Papyrus Golenischeff 17th R - Hymn to the Red Crown
Edwin Smith Papyrus 16th or earlier S - Medical New York Academy of Medicine New York City United States
Ebers Papyrus 16th S - Medical University of Leipzig Leipzig Germany
Millingen Papyrus (now lost) 16th or later T - Instructions of Amenemhat
Carlsberg Papyrus VIII 15th (ca. 1400 BC) or later (perhaps Ramesside: 1292-1077 BC) S - Medical texts University of Copenhagen VIII Copenhagen Denmark
Turin King List 13th (1292-1077 BC; Ramesside) O - Kinglist Museo Egizio Turin Italy
Papyrus of Ani 13th or later (ca. 1250 BC) F - Book of the Dead Egyptian Museum P. Boulaq 4 Cairo Egypt
Papyrus Sallier II 13th or later T - The Satire of the Trades British Museum London UK
Papyrus Anastasi I 13th or later (1292-1077 BC; Ramesside) T - Satirical letter British Museum pBM 10247 London UK
Papyrus Harris I 12th (1155–1149 BC) O - Lists of endowments British Museum P. BM 9999. London UK
Judicial Papyrus of Turin 12th O - Report on the Harem conspiracy against Ramesses III
Turin Papyrus Map 12th (ca. 1150 BC) D - Map Museo Egizio Turin Italy
Abbott Papyrus 12th (ca. 1100 BC) O - Investigation of crimes British Museum 10221 London UK
Leopold II and Amherst Papyrus 12th (1113 BC) O - Investigation of crimes Musée d'arts Brussels Belgium
Mayer Papyri 12th and later (A: 1083-1080 BC; B: 1118 BC) O - Investigation of crimes World Museum M11162, M11186 Liverpool UK
Chester Beatty Medical Papyrus 12th S - Medical texts British Museum London UK
Papyrus British Museum 10474 12th T - Instructions of Amenemopet British Museum P. BM 10474 London UK
Papyrus Lansing 12th T - Schoolbook British Museum P. BM 9994 London UK
Papyrus Chester Beatty IV 12th T - The Immortality of Writers British Museum P. BM 10684 London UK
Papyrus D’Orbiney 12th L - Tale of Two Brothers British Museum P. BM 10183 London UK
Papyrus Chester Beatty II 12th L - Tale of Truth and Falsehood British Museum P. BM 10682 London UK
Papyrus Chester Beatty I 12th L - Love poetry
Contention between Horus and Seth
Turin Erotic Papyrus 12th (ca. 1150 BC) D - Animal and erotic cartoons P. Turin 55001 Turin Italy
Papyrus Harris 500 12th or later L - Tale of the doomed prince, The Taking of Joppa, love poems, the Harper's Song British Museum P. BM 10060 London UK
Papyrus Pushkin I 12th or later L - Moscow literary letter P. Pushkin I
Greenfield Papyrus 11th F - Book of the Dead British Museum BM EA 10554 London UK
Papyrus Moscow 120 11th or later L - Story of Wenamun P. Moscow 120
Papyrus Hood 10th W - Onomasticon of Amenope British Museum P. BM EA 10202 London UK
Papyrus Berlin 3048 8th P - Marriage contract P. Berlin 3048 Berlin Germany
Papyrus Rylands 9 6th P - The petition of Pediese John Rylands Library P. Rylands 9 Manchester UK
Brooklyn Papyrus 5th (450 BC) S - Medical texts Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn United States
Papyrus Bremner–Rhind 4th R - The Songs of Isis and Nephthys. British Museum P. BM 10188 London UK
British Museum Papyrus 10508 4th or later T - Instruction of Ankhsheshonq British Museum P. BM 10508 London UK
Papyrus Berlin 3008 4th or later R - The Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys P.Berlin 3008 Berlin Germany
Cairo Museum Papyrus No. 30646 4th or later L - Setne I Egyptian Museum Cairo Museum Papyrus No. 30646 Cairo Egypt
Cairo Museum Papyrus No. 30692 4th or later L - Setne I Egyptian Museum Cairo Museum Papyrus No. 30692 Cairo Egypt
Vienna Demotic Papyrus 6165 4th or later L - Story-cycle of King Petubastis Vienna Demotic Papyrus 6165 Vienna Austria
Leiden Demotic Papyrus I 384 4th or later R - The Myth of the Eye of the Sun Rijksmuseum van Oudheden P.Leid.Dem. I 384 Leiden Netherlands
Papyrus Milbank 4th or later (332-30 BC) F - Book of the Dead Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures E10486[2] Chicago United States
Zenon Papyri 3rd (250-230 BC) O/P: legal and financial transactions, architectural descriptions dispersed [3][4] various
Waziri Papyrus I 3rd or later F - Book of the Dead Egyptian Museum Cairo Egypt
Milan Papyrus 3rd or later (ca. 220 BC) L - Poetry in Greek University of Milan P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 Milan Italy
Insinger Papyrus 1st or later T - Instruction of Papyrus Insinger Rijksmuseum van Oudheden F 95 / 5.1 Leiden Netherlands
Dryton and Apollonia Archive 1st or later (174-94 BCE; Ptolemaic) P - family papers dispersed [5]
British Museum Papyrus 604 1st AD (39 AD) L - Setne II British Museum P. BM 604[6] London UK

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancient Egyptian papyri.

References

  1. ^ "Egypt Displays Oldest Papyrus, Accounts on Pyramid-Builders - The New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-14.
  2. ^ "Papyrus Milbank". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  3. ^ McKenzie, McKenzie & Moorey 2007.
  4. ^ "About the Zenon Papyri". apps.lib.umich.edu. University of Michigan. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  5. ^ Lewis, N: “Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt”, pp 88–103. Oxford University Press, 1986
  6. ^ "papyrus (Previous P.Lond.3.604B) | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 2023-11-16.

Sources