The Pornographic Papyrus of Ancient Egypt
The Turin papyrus is a name that has long captivated researchers and archeologists. The papyrus built itself a reputation through allusions to it in various writings and wall inscriptions as a sexual reference; it was later discovered and renamed papyrus 550001.
In reality, this papyrus is not only pornographic, but a third of it also represents scenes of satirical animal parodies. For example, cats are attacked by mice mounted on chariots pulled by dogs in one part of the papyrus. Yes, you read that right!
An unusual discovery
Our sulfurous document was discovered in Egypt in 1820, in the Valley of the Kings at Deir el-Medina.
It immediately landed in the hands of Bernardino Drovetti, the French consul in Egypt at that time. A lover of Egyptian antiquities, he selfishly placed this little treasure in his collection, already amply supplied with significant papyri and other statues found at Deir el-Medina.
In 1824, Drovetti sold his collection to the Egizio Museum in Turin, where Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), the man who managed to decipher the hieroglyphs two years earlier, was sent to study and organize it.
