The Undertakers of the Great Oasis

The volume presents a group of papyri, discovered in the 1890s and partially published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 (P. Grenf. II). They come from the Khargha Oasis and date to the period 237 to 314. Many of them relate to a family of ‘nekrotaphoi’ - ‘undertakers’, an activity which also included responsibility for the mummification process (rather than just grave-digging). The texts contain petitions, letters and private legal instruments (such as loans, mandates, deeds of gift or sales).