One of the oldest versions of this text was found by James Edward Quibell in an expedition to western Thebes in 1896. The excavation took place in several Middle Kingdom tombs found in the back of the Ramesseum. Here, Quibell found various fragments of papyri, later named the Ramesseum papyri.[5] Many of these were of a medicinal subject matter, but literary texts have also been found, including the Story of Sinuhe.[6] These fragments date back to the late 13th dynasty. Additionally, Quibell and his team also found a small chest, reed pens and several other items of interest. In a discussion about this archaeological expedition, author Alan Gardiner made note of the fragility and poor condition that the papyrus was found in; “if a fragment of the material were pressed slightly between the finger and thumb it disappeared in a mere dust". This copy of the Story of Sinuhe is written in hieratic. Gardiner used information from Quibell’s findings as well as a later ostracon to work on an English translation of the text. As the early ostracon and combined fragments from the Quibelll expedition allowed for a more complete version of the tale.[5] He published his work in translating the tale in 1916.[7] Other authors have been able to build on his work and adjust their own translations as needed, one notable example being Alyward M. Blackman who published his own notes in 1936 based on Gardiners work.[8]
A papyrus found in the Ramesseum tomb.Many other versions of the text have been found. Including some fragments from a New Kingdom Ostracon,[9] and a duplicate of the text[10] discovered in the Museum of Natural History of Buenos Aires, as well as many more papyrus. Most scholars on Egyptian literature agree that the large prevalence of sources indicate a widescale popularity of the Story of Sinuhe and that it had been copied in multitudes.
