Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a limestone tomb dating back about 1,700 years, containing a 19-line funerary poem written in ancient Greek. Researchers believe it may have been written by a son in memory of his deceased father.
The tomb dates to the 4th century, when Egypt was under Roman rule. It was discovered in the Dakhla Oasis, near the ancient city of Mothis, close to present-day Mut.
The burial complex was intended for a man and a woman. A stone slab bears the name of the deceased man, Pisechtes, who is described as a respected, kind and wise person, and he may also have served as a judge. It is not known whether human remains were found in the tomb.
The tomb also contains hieroglyphic inscriptions with spells intended to protect the dead. Some of them are connected to the ancient Egyptian text “Amduat,” which tells of the sun god’s journey through the afterlife.
Archaeologists also found an altar, a ritual purification vessel, pottery and at least one coin bearing the image of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Fourteen steps lead to the tomb’s entrance, which is decorated with images of a winged solar disk, Osiris and two cobras.
However, the most remarkable find is the stone slab bearing the poem. In the epigram, Pisechtes is called “a counselor in life,” while in the final lines his son Sarapion addresses his father, saying, “Listen, my father,” and asks him to accept the funeral praises and offerings of his grieving children.
Angelos Chaniotis, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey who was not involved in the excavation, described the poem as a highly artistic and original epigram. In his view, the grammar of the text resembles the language of Homer’s famous poems.
The discovery is notable not only for its age, but also because the tomb’s inscription shows how personal memory was expressed during a period when different cultural and religious traditions coexisted in Egypt. No Christian images or texts have yet been found in the tomb, while it contains inscriptions and images related to ancient Egyptian worship.
The poem is distinctive because, rather than offering an official memorial, it conveys a son’s direct address to his father. The phrase “Listen, my father,” alongside the other elements of the tomb, documents not only the ritual of death but also the personal words directed by the family to the deceased. The grammar resembling the language of Homer also shows that the Greek literary tradition could still be preserved in highly artistic texts in this environment.
