1,700-year-old fragment of “Odyssey” discovered between pages of a library book

September 17, 2026 / 9:22 AM EDT / CBS News

A researcher in the Netherlands found an incredibly rare fragment of Homer's epic "Odyssey" that is over 1,700 years old sandwiched between the pages of a library book.

The find was made by Dr. Mark de Kreij, of Radboud University in the Netherlands, while he participated in a project to study and publish ancient manuscripts held by Utrecht University. He made the find about two years ago, local media reported, but the university only announced the discovery this week.

De Kreij identified the tiny slip of paper while looking at a collection of early Christian manuscripts purchased by the university in the mid-20th century, according to a news release from the institution. At first, researchers thought it was a piece of paper from the 7th century. Several similar fragments, in Egyptian, had already been found in the collection.

But De Kreij, a Greek teacher, recognized some of the the language on the paper and identified it as a part of Homer's "Odyssey."

"Everyone who learns Greek learns Homer," De Kreij told Dutch media outlet RTV Utrecht.

Researchers were able to date the fragment back to about 300 AD, the university…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/