On Tuesday 11th November, The Classics Society hosted its inaugural session with a talk from our very own Dr Gregor-Som, an expert on papyri from ancient Hermopolis. After giving a brief history of Hermopolis, an ancient city in Middle Egypt, Dr Gregor-Som outlined the intricate process of translating and interpreting ancient papyri and what it reveals to us about the social structure of the landowners and tenants in Hermopolis at the time. The society was fascinated to discover that a huge group of manuscripts known as the “Oxyrhynchus Papyri” were discovered at a rubbish dump, leading to a massive project to excavate and conserve these texts. We also enjoyed learning about the drama of the illegal trade of papyri, including the story of the Oxford professor, Dirk Obbink, allegedly stealing and selling ancient papyrus fragments from the Oxyrhynchus collection!

Many thanks to Dr Gregor-Som for giving such an interesting talk to kick off the year.

Roxie, Year 12