Translating Ancient Egyptian Texts Just Went Social

You know you wanna be like Indiana Jones, unlocking the secrets of ancient manuscripts. Well, that shit is hard. But the Egypt Exploration Society and Oxford University are giving you the chance by uploading their ancient papyrus to the web.

By visiting Oxford’s Ancient Lives website, you and your fellow archaeologists can sit down and attempt to decipher the catalogued papyri from Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus, discovered in the late 19th century. The find includes accounts of everyday life, an apocryphal gospel, and literature.

You may want to go through the tutorial first, though. Or learn some Greek. [Wired]

Discuss

(1 Comment)
  • [–]

    Reoh

    Friday, July 29, 2011 at 7:37 AM

    It’s a shopping list.

    “Don’t forget the milk again” is in bold type.

Join The Discussion