WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are tweaking a powerful cancer therapy in hopes it could fight HIV instead, by supercharging patients’ own immune cells.

On Tuesday, researchers said a single dose of those revved-up cells strongly suppressed HIV in two people — one for nearly a year and the other for nearly two years — without requiring their usual medicines.

Larger and longer studies are needed to prove if what’s called CAR-T cell therapy might really offer long-lasting help for HIV, cautioned Dr. Steven Deeks of the University of California, San Francisco, who led the research.

“We find the fact that two people have had such a really sustained response provocative,” he said. “There is a real need for a one-and-done, safe and scalable cure … and this is one of the strategies that we’re pursuing.”

The data is being presented at a meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy in Boston.

There are nearly 40 million people living with HIV around the world. Today’s medicines have turned the virus that causes AIDS from a fast killer into a manageable chronic disease, often keeping the virus at undetectable levels, but only if people can afford the drugs and stick with them. The virus hides out in reservoirs in the body and rebounds fast if people stop treatment.

Researchers have long hunted an elusive cure, pursuing such clues as a rare gene mutation that makes some people naturally resistant to HIV or how a handful of HIV patients who also had certain cancers were declared cured or in long-term remission after receiving a stem cell transplant, something too risky for most people.

CAR-T therapy involves taking immune soldiers called T cells out of a person’s blood, genetically engineering them into “living drugs” and infusing them back into the patient. They’re widely used to cure certain types of cancer and are being studied for other diseases.

For HIV, scientists at the nonprofit drug developer Caring Cross created CAR-T cells with dual features. They’re programmed to better find and kill HIV-infected cells — and engineered with protection against infection by the very virus they’re supposed to fight.

With that added armor, they should be able to reproduce enough to keep HIV in check, said Caring Cross executive director Boro Dropulić.

Deeks’ early-stage experiment tested different dosing strategies in people who stopped their HIV medicine the day they received their CAR-T cells. There were no serious side effects. The first three recipients showed no response and resumed their usual medicines.

Six others received a small amount of chemotherapy to make space for the new T cells. Those two strong responders saw their HIV drop to undetectable levels, inching up only occasionally when the CAR-T cells presumably got to work again. A third patient had a temporary response and resumed regular HIV treatment.

Those three patients all had started their original HIV treatment soon after they’d been infected, Deeks said. That makes sense because people treated early tend to have less HIV hiding in the body and a healthier immune system.

“This is certainly very fascinating that they’ve had this positive response,” said Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem, a gene therapy expert at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who wasn’t part of the new study. He cautioned that it will take additional research to prove if CAR-T really works.

But the strategy is exciting because it’s “boosting what our body, our immune system, can already do,” said Andrea Gramatica, vice president for research at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, which is funding some work to create easier-to-use versions.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Hartlepool Masonic Hall will host a charity race night from 7pm on Saturday, May 23, as part of its relaunch as a hub for both Freemasonry and the wider community.

The event is organised by Hartlepool Freemasons in support of the Hartlepool Masonic Benevolent Association (HMBA).

Kris Middleton, secretary of HMBA and the new communications officer for the hall, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity not only to enjoy a great evening together, but also to showcase the Hall and the work of HMBA to the wider community.

“We are keen to demonstrate that Freemasonry in Hartlepool is active, welcoming, and committed to making a positive difference.”

The race night will follow a traditional format, offering a lively and engaging atmosphere for guests to support charitable work while enjoying an evening of entertainment.

All proceeds will go towards the HMBA’s efforts to support individuals and organisations in Hartlepool.

This includes acts of kindness, financial assistance, and practical guidance for those in need.

The event is part of a broader effort to increase community engagement and raise awareness of Freemasonry’s charitable work.

Organisers aim to foster understanding of the craft by welcoming guests from outside the Masonic community.

Lodges that meet at the hall have been invited to host tables, ensuring a strong Masonic presence.

The evening will also serve as an opportunity to introduce prospective candidates and guests to the fellowship and charitable ethos of Freemasonry.

Mr Middleton said: “We are keen to demonstrate that Freemasonry in Hartlepool is active, welcoming, and committed to making a positive difference.”

Tickets are priced at £7.50, which includes a Pies, Peas and Chips meal.

Organisers hope the night will mark the start of a new chapter for Hartlepool Masonic Hall.

Further events are already being planned to continue strengthening community ties and supporting charitable projects.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.hartlepoolfreemasons.org.uk.

Enquiries about alternative payment methods, such as BACS, Cheque, or cash, can be directed to hmba@hartlepoolfreemasons.org.uk.

The Woolpack has changed hands many times over the years in Emmerdale, but never has it fallen into the wrong ones before.

Charity Dingle’s (Emma Atkins) tenure as the landlady is fast coming to an end, all because of that evil Dr Todd (Caroline Harker).

Dr Todd is blackmailing her because she knows the true parentage of baby Leyla and she’s in need of some serious money.

It’s all Chas ‘Loose Lips’ Dingle’s (Lucy Pargeter) fault – just after Leyla was born, Chas chose the hospital carpark to give Ross (Michael Parr) both barrels to remind him that though he fathered the baby, she isn’t his daughter. Todd overheard and decided to use this information to pump Charity for every penny she’s worth.

After learning Charity’s dirty secret, the first thing Todd did was make her make Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) drop his grievance against her. Next, she began piling on the pressure, forcing Charity to hand over wads of cash. The Doc retired early after Jacob caught her out in an HR lie, and now she needs money to survive. The current pub landlady with the devastating secret is a perfect money spinner.

Charity was forced to take out a loan to pay off Caitlin, but it wasn’t enough and she needs more. She tries for a loan extension, but is gutted to learn she can’t get one, right when Todd texts to remind her that she still owes money.

This means Todd will be hanging around even longer, much to Vanessa’s joy and everyone else’s hell.

Charity has no choice but to sell the pub to pay off the debt, and things look momentarily positive when Ruby (Beth Cordingly) seems interested. But Caleb (William Ash) puts a spanner in the works. He feels it just wouldn’t be good optics, and Charity loses the sale.

Feeling rattled, Charity is left even more perturbed when she returns from upstairs to find Todd holding the baby. Todd calmly demands to know what Charity and Caleb were talking about and Charity gives up the information easily. So now Todd knows her scheme is working and that Charity is prepared to sell the pub. Charity has one week to get the money, or else.

Todd later goads her again and Charity decides to stand up to her foe, but it quickly becomes clear that she does not hold a single card in this equation.

Oblivious Vanessa thinks she’s on cloud 9 when she learns Dr Todd is hanging around longer, no clue with who she’s getting into bed with.

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Charity has no choice but to go nuclear – she offers to sell the pub to Kim Tate (Claire King).

Kim? KIM?! This one decision could change the face of Emmerdale forever.

MORE: Emmerdale star confirms Dr Todd’s next victims as she ‘gets darker’

MORE: Is Cain Dingle leaving Emmerdale and does he die?

MORE: Dr Todd reveals her true plans for gobsmacked Jacob in grim Emmerdale twist

Now, just six months later, the pair have secured a coveted pop-up shop at John Lewis store in Newcastle.

Emma Lindsay, who lives in York, co-founded NinetyOne Jewellery with her mum Karen Jones after deciding to leave behind her corporate career in marketing and sustainability consulting to build a business – and life, on their own terms.

The mother-and-daughter duo officially launched NinetyOne Jewellery online in November 2025, handmaking jewellery in small batches from mum’s Stokesley studio.

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Now, the pair have been selected from hundreds of applicants to host a week-long pop-up at John Lewis in Newcastle, with support from Harrogate based business Pop-up Indie, who support small brands to break into large retailers.

Mum and daughter Karen Jones and Emma Lindsay outside John Lewis in Newcastle (Image: Pic supplied)

Before launching the business, Emma started her career at Nestlé in York, then moving to London, San Francisco and Edinburgh for different roles before returning to York, commuting between York and London while working with major global brands in marketing and sustainability consultancy roles.

Emma tired of the constant travelling and corporate life and wanted something more creative, flexible and meaningful, recalling how she made jewelery with her mum whilst growing up.

Mum and daughter Karen John and Emma Lindsay are in business together (Image: Pic supplied)

“It’s been amazing that the business is something my mum and I could do together.”

Karen, who recently stepped back from a career in nursing aged 60, said starting the business together felt like “coming full circle”.

A piece of the jewelry (Image: Pic supplied)

She said: “I’ve always loved making jewellery, but I never imagined this little idea at our kitchen table would lead to John Lewis. It’s been amazing to build something together at this stage in our lives.”

Emma credits York’s independent business community with helping NinetyOne Jewellery grow quickly in its early stages.

Some of the pieces made (Image: Pic supplied)

Emma is a member at Patch, the coworking and creative workspace in York, and the pair both use Patch as a base for building the brand (as well as being the spot for their first professional product and model photoshoot for the brand!).

She has also received support from both the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub, the locally based Enterprise Cube team and, more recently, the NatWest Accelerator programme in York.

Emma said: “The support network in York has genuinely been incredible.”

“Places like Patch make it feel possible to start something new because you’re surrounded by other people building businesses too. The Growth Hub and NatWest Accelerator have also given us support, confidence and connections at a really important stage.”

NinetyOne Jewellery creates small-batch, handmade and personalisable jewellery designed around wearable seasonal colour palettes and timeless styling.

Emma added: “We’re aimed towards shoppers who are more intentional about what they buy.

“Through setting up this business we’ve identified a real appetite for small businesses and products that feel high quality and personal rather than mass-produced.

Mum Karen Jones and daughter Emma Lindsay (Image: pic supplied)

“We knew to compete in the jewellery space we needed to already meet a high bar.

“We create hand-finished, understated, everyday jewellery and offer complete personalisation of colour and engraving, as well as a stylish selection of 4 new colours every season, but we think what really sets us aside from others is our brand.

“We want people who wear our jewellery to really ‘feel’ our story and feel inspired themselves about creating life on their own terms”

NinetyOne Jewellery will be at John Lewis Newcastle during June 1-7.

For more information visit www.ninetyonejewellery.co.uk or follow @ninetyonejewellery on Instagram.

Child Benefit payments will stop automatically after a child’s 16th birthday unless parents confirm their teenager’s educational plans here’s what you need to do

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Parents are being warned they could lose out on vital funds if they neglect to complete one crucial task. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is calling on parents of 16 to 19-year-olds to renew their Child Benefit claim if their teenager plans to continue with certain types of education or training after completing their GCSEs or National 5s.

HMRC has warned that Child Benefit payments will cease automatically on August 31 on or after a child’s 16th birthday unless parents confirm their teenager’s future plans.

According to the Daily Record, approximately 1.5 million reminder letters are being sent out to parents and guardians between now and early May.

Yet parents needn’t wait for their letter to arrive. HMRC’s digital renewal service went live on April 1, enabling those who already know their teenager’s plans to take action straight away to avoid any interruption to monthly payments of £108.20.

Claim renewals can be made through the HMRC app or online at GOV.UK. The letters also include a QR code giving direct access to the digital service.

Child Benefit is valued at £27.05 weekly and paid every four weeks, delivering some £2,406.60 throughout the 2026/27 financial year for the eldest or only child.

HMRC pays £17.90 weekly for each additional child. Last year, 874,000 parents extended their claim, with over half doing so online or through the HMRC app.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “Child Benefit is a real financial boost for families, so if your teenager already knows they’re staying in education or training after their GCSEs or National 5s, you don’t need to wait for our letter.

“You can extend your Child Benefit claim today in minutes via the HMRC app or online at GOV.UK.”

Child Benefit can continue to be paid for children who are studying full time in approved non-advanced education, which includes:

• A levels or Scottish Highers
• International Baccalaureate
• home education – if it started before their child turned 16, or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs and it was assessed by the local authority
• T levels
• NVQs, up to level 3

Child Benefit will also continue for children studying on one of these unpaid approved training courses:

• Scotland: Employability Fund programme and No One Left Behind
• Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme
• Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work

If a child changes their mind about further education or training, parents can simply inform HMRC online or in the app and payments will be adjusted accordingly.

If a Child Benefit claimant or their partner has an individual income of between £60,000 and £80,000, the higher earner may be liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator on GOV.UK for an estimate. Parents can pay the charge through their PAYE tax code using the HICBC digital service, or through Self Assessment.

A male was arrested at the scene of the crash and remains in police custody

A motorcycle rider has died following a crash with a car along a busy Welsh road. Police also arrested a male at the scene of the incident on the A5025 in Llanfachraeth, Anglesey.

North Wales Police received a report of a collision involving a grey Jaguar I-Pace and a white Triumph motorcycle around 6.57pm on Tuesday, May 12. Emergency services attended the incident but, despite their best efforts, the male rider of the motorcycle was pronounced dead at the scene.

The rider’s next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

The A5025 remained closed overnight to allow the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit to continue their investigation at the scene.

North Wales Police are appealing for information from the public regarding the fatal crash.

Sergeant Alun Jones from the Roads Crime Team, the lead investigating officer, said: “I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the family at this extremely difficult time.

“This collision is now being investigated as a fatal road traffic collision, and we are working to establish the full circumstances.

“We are urging anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or anyone who has private CCTV, dashcam, or doorbell footage that may have captured either vehicle in the moments leading up to the collision, to please get in touch.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact officers from the Roads Crime Unit via the North Wales Police live webchat, or by calling 101, quoting reference number O073031.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about Crystal Palace potentially resting players when they face Arsenal

Pep Guardiola told the Premier League to stay out of Oliver Glasner’s plans for Crystal Palace against Arsenal on the final day of the season. The Gunners travel to Selhurst Park on the day that could decide the title, and Glasner has suggested that Palace could rest players ahead of their Conference League final three days later.

That has sparked questions over the integrity of the league, with Arsenal potentially being given a helping hand on the final day – if the title race gets that far – by the random allocation of the fixture list and how well Palace have done in Europe. Glasner has dismissed such ideas as nonsense, and Guardiola backed the Austrian up by saying he should be allowed to pick any team he likes for each of his remaining three games without anyone else getting involved.

“Leave the managers to do what they have to do,” the City boss said. “The less the Premier League is involved in all the decisions, will be better for all of us. So, leave it all over, so the managers do what they have to do. No problem.”

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City will be hoping to take the title race to the final day, starting with a win over Palace tonight to cut the gap at the top of the table to two points with just two games to play. Victory at Bournemouth next Tuesday would send it to the last game, and the Blues have experience from a number of different years how tense the final day can be, even for a team in control.

Wherever City end up though, Guardiola does not want them to blame referees, other teams or anything else if they are unable to pip Arsenal. And, as Palace’s manager pointed out, he has to do what is best for his football club regardless of how it ends up for the title chasers.

“I don’t know what we’re doing yet,” Glasner said. “Maybe we’ll be playing with the same line-up that we’ll play against Rayo [Vallecano].

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“It feels like the league title (may be) decided on the last day, but at the end, it’s a result of 38 matchdays and everybody gets what they deserve. To be honest, if somebody criticises (me for this), it would be nonsense.

“It’s (not) just the last game. There were 37 games played before and that means if another team rotated against City or Arsenal, they affected the title race as well.

“I’m not responsible for Arsenal, and I’m not responsible for Manchester City. I’m responsible for Crystal Palace, and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace.”

Teesside Hospice, in Middlesbrough, and Butterwick Hospice, in Stockton, plan to unite in a bid to ensure “long-term sustainability” of end-of-life care across the North East.

The decision, which has been agreed in principle, comes as hospices across the country remain at crisis point with finances running low and services at risk of being cut.

Both hospices continue to face “unending” financial challenges, spending more money than they are bringing in at a time when demand is increasing year on year.

Both Teesside and Butterwick now feel that they can generate more income together, with no immediate noticeable changes to services.

While the hospices will now jointly support more than 6,700 people across Teesside and County Durham, the merger has meant that two Butterwick staff now sadly face redundancy.

“By making these decisions now, we are protecting ourselves for the future”, Mike Thornicroft, CEO of Teesside Hospice, told The Northern Echo. 

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“We would always want to reach more people and deliver outstanding care. Demand is going up year on year, and we want to do more for more people.

“I think by working together we can share costs, we can bring more income in, and each hospice is protected by the other one’s success.” 

Edward Gorringe, CEO at Butterwick Hospice, said the two hospices are “stronger together”.

“They can better serve communities in the future”, he said. “We have got strengths in different areas at each hospice. We can hopefully create something taking the best elements of each.”

Both hospices ‘under pressure’

The merger, which follows a lengthy decision process, has been agreed to ensure services for those living with life-limiting illnesses and their families will continue. 

Mr Gorringe, who has been in his role since 2022, said all North East hospices have been working together for years.

In the last few months, the merger came about as an “opportunity to build something special”. 

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

It comes just less than two years after Mr Gorringe revealed that, without additional funding, the hospice’s current provision would “simply become unsustainable”.  

Mr Gorringe said: “At some point in time, we could have [a financial challenge] that we cannot cope with. It could be anywhere between two months to a year from now.

“We are all under pressure with costs going up. 

“For the whole sector, the hospice’s funding model is based on a simple approach to providing care. But we are akin to a small hospital – and the funding model does not sustain that.” 

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

However, Mr Gorringe did say that the hospice has made significant progress, recently reducing a £1 million deficit by around half. 

“The government needs to take these issues seriously”, he argued. “They need to wake up and take it seriously because if they don’t they will lose hospices.” 

Meanwhile, Mr Thornicroft, who has worked in the sector for eight years, said finances had been tough this year due to National Living Wage and National Insurance Contribution increases. 

He previously said difficult decisions could lie ahead for Teesside Hospice, which faced a deficit of around £300,000 last year – but there are plans in place to tackle the next forecasted deficit.

He said he hopes the merger will bring the potential for new roles within the hospices – but, with the ongoing crisis, cannot guarantee there won’t be cuts in the future.

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“I think both Teesside Hospice and Butterwick Hospice over the last few years have been delivering expert care to our communities”, Mr Thornicroft said.

“We both face challenges around financial sustainability, and we have both been experiencing a deficit budget. Over the last few years we have been eating into our resources. 

“It just makes sense to work together and be stronger together rather than competing for funding in our local areas. We feel that, working together, we can generate a lot more income.”

Mr Thornicroft said the changes will largely be felt behind the scenes:  “Nobody outside of the hospice should notice any change to services. 

“It is purely to make us more efficient and save money.

“We are going to work on the basis of a group structure, but both Butterwick Hospice and Teesside Hospice’s identities will be remaining. 

“They’ll still have separate bank accounts but we will have one leadership team across both.”  

Horses, pigs, sheep, and goats were found living in pens of thick mud, with no dry lying area

A mother and son who kept animals in “a hazardous environment” have been temporarily banned from keeping animals. Animals belonging to the pair, including horses, sheep, pigs, and goats were found living in muddy pens.

William Dickinson, 27, of no fixed abode, and his mother Tara Thorneycroft, 56, of Hilton St, Over, kept livestock at Greengage Farm in Impington. Officers from Trading Standards had visited the holding on nine separate occasions since April 2024. They gave advice to the pair on how better to meet the needs of the animals and poultry.

When the advice wasn’t followed, an Improvement Notice and Warning Notice were issued, but the welfare issues continued. On some of the inspection days, temperatures reached 28 and 30 degrees, and sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry had no water. Horses, donkeys, and sheep also lacked grazing.

Horses and donkeys were found to be living in a hazardous environment, and a horse was lame. In additon to this, pigs had been left with no bedding or wallow. Days before their first court hearing, a re-inspection took place and found horses, pigs, sheep, and goats in pens of thick mud with no dry lying area and no water.

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Dickinson and Thorneycroft pleaded guilty to 19 offences contrary to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Animal Health Act 1981. On May 6, Cambridge Magistrates’ Court disqualified the pair from owning and keeping animals other than cats and dogs for five years.

They were also imposed with a 12-month community order requiring them to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. Each was ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.

Peter Gell, Head of Service for Cambridgeshire County Council’s Trading Standards team, said: “This case sends a clear message that we will not tolerate breaches of basic animal welfare standards in Cambridgeshire.

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“Whilst it is accepted Mr Dickinson and Mrs Thorneycroft were new to livestock keeping, when bringing animals into their care they have a duty to research how to meet the basic needs of those animals and put all measures in place to ensure their welfare needs are met.

“Officers visited time and time again, providing them with extensive advice on what was required of them, and yet serious welfare breaches continued and animals in their care continued to suffer.

“Other enforcement sanctions did little to accelerate progress, so prosecution became the only remaining recourse to protect the animals on the small holding. The sentence today will ensure that no animals suffer in their care for the next 5 years.”

Archaeologists have found something unexpected inside a 1,600-year-old Roman-era Egyptian mummy: a fragment of Homer’s Iliad. It wasn’t placed beside the body, but inside the mummy’s abdomen. But the real surprise isn’t just where the fragment was found. It’s how it got there. To understand, we must go back – to the Iliad itself, and to what it became in the Roman world.

In The Iliad, a poem shaped in the 8th century BC and attributed to Homer, the Trojan war does not end in triumph or renewal. It ends in devastation. The poem closes at the edge of collapse, with Troy reduced to a landscape of heroic ruin. And yet, this is not where the story ends.

According to later Roman tradition, one Trojan escaped. Aeneas – son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite – fled the burning city carrying his father on his shoulders and the household gods in his hands. He moved west, across the Mediterranean, towards Italy, where he became the ancestor of Rome.

This continuation did not come from the Iliad itself. It was shaped centuries later, most famously in Virgil’s Aeneid. But it changed the meaning of the Trojan war entirely. The past, in other words, was actively reorganised – through stories that could be reworked, extended and connected across time and space.

Turning defeat into origin

For Roman audiences, the Trojan war was more than a distant Greek legend. It became a way of thinking about origins, identity and power.

Claiming descent from Troy was more than a matter of tracing a lineage. It required constant cultural work – through storytelling, education and shared knowledge. The Iliad provided the raw material: characters, events and genealogies that could be reshaped and redeployed across generations.

Across the Roman Empire, educated elites learned Homer as part of their schooling. They quoted him in speeches, analysed him in classrooms and used him to signal cultural authority. To know the Iliad was to speak a language that others across the empire understood.

A senator in Rome, a teacher in Asia Minor or a student in Egypt could all draw on the same stories. The poem created a shared frame of reference – one that allowed very different people to situate themselves within a common past.

In the Roman imperial period, the site of ancient Troy – located in modern-day Turkey – became a destination. Emperors invested in its development, tying it directly to Rome’s claimed Trojan origins. Under Emperor Augustus, Troy was folded into the political language of empire. And under Emperor Hadrian, it became part of a wider culture of travel, memory and heritage.

A visitor to Troy in the 2nd century AD would have arrived at a curated landscape. There were baths, places to stay and spaces for performance. A small theatre – the Odeion – was built directly into the ancient citadel, so that the remains of the bronze age city, understood as the setting of the legendary battles around Troy, formed a dramatic backdrop.

Visitors could walk through what was presented as the setting of Homeric epic, experiencing the Trojan war as something anchored in the ground beneath their feet.

From Troy to Egypt

Across the Roman Empire, the Iliad circulated as a living text: copied, taught and read. Egypt, one of Rome’s most important provinces, was no exception. Yet here, Homer circulated within a cultural landscape that differed in important ways from the Greek literary world in which the poem had first taken shape.

For Roman observers, Egypt often appeared as a place where antiquity was materially preserved as well as remembered – through temples, monuments and practices that emphasised continuity with the past. At the same time, it was a deeply hybrid society, where Egyptian, Greek and Roman traditions interacted in complex ways.

Homer was among the most widely copied authors in Roman Egypt – read and taught as a marker of education and cultural belonging and deeply embedded in everyday literary culture.

The Homeric version of the Trojan War was particularly prominent among the Greek-speaking elite, especially in urban centres such as Oxyrhynchus, where the mummy was found. Other versions of the story – which placed greater emphasis on Paris and Helen’s stay in Egypt, as reported by Herodotus based on accounts from Egyptian priests – were probably more widespread among the broader Egyptian population.

The initial media coverage of the discovery of the fragment inside the Egyptian mummy suggested the text was deliberately chosen to accompany the deceased. As a personally meaningful object, perhaps reflecting their education or cultural identity.

The most telling explanation, however, may be the most straightforward. Discarded or damaged papyri could be reused as inexpensive material. The fragment may therefore have functioned as stuffing – bundled together and inserted into the body cavity without particular regard for its literary content.

The very fact that a scrap of the Iliad could end up as disposable filling, however, speaks to how deeply Homer had penetrated everyday life in Roman Egypt.

A text in motion

To make sense of the past in the Roman world meant moving between story and monument, between genealogy and deep time. Each perspective made the others more intelligible.

The Iliad helped create a world in which different pasts could be connected, compared and reshaped. By linking stories, places and traditions across the Mediterranean, the Roman world turned the past into a flexible resource – one that could generate identity, authority and belonging in shifting contexts.

This is why the Iliad mattered: it circulated across many different settings. It shaped elite education, but it was also part of everyday reading culture. At Troy, it helped transform the city into a place of cultural memory. The text itself also had a long material afterlife, surviving not only as an authoritative story, but through manuscripts and writing materials that were copied, passed on – or even reused for entirely different purposes.

Its most enduring insight is therefore this: the past is not something simply preserved, but something continuously made and remade – through the stories, practices and materials that carry it across time.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.