The Second Life of the El Hibeh Literary Papyri: a Case Study

The unusually high percentage of literary texts among the papyri extracted from the El Hibeh cartonnages has attracted scholarly attention since their editio princeps, and the possibility that these papyri come from a discarded library paints an interesting picture. However, a careful analysis of their material features is needed to verify whether these literary texts share a common provenance. What is more, a considerable number of El Hibeh papyri bear writing on the verso as well, providing evidence of a second (documentary) life that needs to be further investigated. A case study will show how this reuse can yield information which help reconstruct the path followed by this important group of texts.