According to information given in the passage, which of the following locations would probably yield the highest probability of finding a previously undiscovered papyrus fragment?

After reading the passage, choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions following the passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. One of the best sources modern scholars have for learning about Hellenistic Egypt is the large supply of papyrus fragments that have turned up in the Egyptian desert over the last century. Papyrus is a thick type of paper made from a reedy plant found in Egypt. Papyrus is much tougher than the wood-pulp paper used in modern society; whereas a book produced today will most likely fall apart within a century, there are papyrus... Show more

After reading the passage, choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions following the passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

One of the best sources modern scholars have for learning about Hellenistic Egypt is the large supply of papyrus fragments that have turned up in the Egyptian desert over the last century. Papyrus is a thick type of paper made from a reedy plant found in Egypt. Papyrus is much tougher than the wood-pulp paper used in modern society; whereas a book produced today will most likely fall apart within a century, there are papyrus fragments that are still legible over 2,000 years after scribes wrote on them.
It is primarily by accident that any of these fragments have survived. Most of the surviving fragments have been found in ancient garbage dumps that were covered over by the desert and preserved in the dry heat. The benefit of this type of archeological find is that these discarded scraps often give us a more accurate picture of the daily lives of ancient Egyptians—their business affairs, personal correspondence, and religious pleas—than the stone engravings and recorded texts that were intended to be passed down to later generations.
One of the most important papyrus discoveries of recent years was the revelation in 2001 that a scrap of papyrus that had been discarded and used to wrap a mummy contained 110 previously unknown epigrams (short, witty poems) by the Hellenistic poet Posidippus (ca. 280–240 B.C.). Posidippus lived in Alexandria and benefited from the support of King Ptolemy II Philadelphos (ruled 284–246 B.C.). These new epigrams have yielded fascinating insight into the court culture and literary sensibilities of early Hellenistic Egypt.
King Ptolemy, of course, was also a sponsor of the famous library of Alexandria, the greatest depository of knowledge in the ancient world. According to the twelfth-century Byzantine writer John Tzetzes, the ancient library contained nearly half a million papyrus scrolls. If that library had not burned down, maybe archeologists today would not have to spend so much of their time sorting through ancient trash!

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