Papyrus


Blank papyrus. Close-up of the surface. Papyrus is an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that grows to 5 meters (15 ft) in height and was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Papyrus is first known to have been used in Ancient Egypt (at least as far back as the First dynasty), but it was also widely used throughout the Mediterranean region, as well as inland parts of Europe and south-west Asia.

Etymology

The English word papyrus derives, via Latin, from Greek πάπυρος papuros. It is interesting to note that Greek has a second word for papyrus, βύβλος bublos (said to derive from the name of the Phoencian city of Byblos). The Greek writer Theophrastos, who flourished during the 4th century BC, uses papuros when referring to the plant used as a foodstuff and bublos for the same plant when used for non-food products, such as cordage, basketry, or a writing surface. This latter usage finds its way into English in such words as bibliography, bibliophile, and bible. It is often claimed that Egyptians referred to papyrus as pa-per-aa [''p3y pr-ˁ3''] (lit., "that which is of Pharaoh"), apparently denoting that the Egyptian crown owned a monopoly on papyrus production. However no actual ancient text using this term is known. In the Egyptian language papyrus was known by the terms wadj [''w3ḏ''], tjufy [''ṯwfy''], and djet [''ḏt'']. Thus in reality, Greek papuros has no known relation to any Egyptian word or phrase.

Manufacture and Use

A sheet of papyrus is made from the stem of the plant. The outer rind is first stripped off, and the inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin strips of about 40 cm long. The strips are then placed side by side on a hard surface, with their edges slightly overlapping, and then another layer of strips is laid on top at a right angle. (The strips may have been soaked in water long enough for decomposition to begin, perhaps increasing adhesion, but this is not certain.) While still moist, the two layers are hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with some rounded object, possibly a stone. A section of the Egyptian [[Book of the Dead written on papyrus]] Papyrus scrolls were initially use (and remained so in Egypt), but later the practice in the Gręco-Roman world was to cut sheets from the rolls in order to form codices when the codex (or book) was invented sometime in the first century BC. In a dry climate like that of Egypt, papyrus is stable; but storage in humid conditions can result in molds attacking and eventually destroying the material. Imported papyrus that was once commonplace in Greece and Italy has since deteriorated beyond repair, but papyri are still being found in Egypt — extraordinary examples include the Elephantine papyri and the famous finds at Oxyrhynchus and Nag Hammadi. The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, containing the library of Julius Caesar's father-in-law, was preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but has only been partially excavated. In Egypt papyrus remained in use until circa 800 AD, when it was replaced by cheaper paper, which was introduced there by Arabs. Before then, however, the use of parchment and vellum had replaced papyrus in many areas as they are much more durable (especially in moist climates) and the fact that they can be manufactured anywhere. The latest certain date for the use of papyrus is 1057 for a papal decree and 1087 for an Arabic document. Papyrus was used as late as the 1100s in the Byzantine Empire, but there are no known surviving examples. There have been sporadic attempts to revive the manufacture of papyrus during the past 250 years. The Scottish explorer James Bruce experimented in the late eighteenth century with papyrus plants from the Sudan. Also in the eighteenth century, a Sicilian named Saverio Landolina manufactured papyrus at Syracuse where papyrus plants had continued to grow in the wild. The modern technique of papyrus production used in Egypt for the tourist trade was developed in 1962 by the Egyptian engineer Hassan Ragab using plants that had been reintroduced into Egypt in 1872 from France. Both Sicily and Egypt continue to have centres of papyrus production. Much of what is sold today to tourists as "papyrus" is actually made of banana leaves (noted by brown flecking in the sheets and a generally darker colour).

Other Usages of the Word Papyrus

References

Category:Ancient Egypt Category:Materials de:Papyrus (Schreibmaterial) es:Papiro ja:パピルス ko:파피루스 nl:Papyrus fr:Papyrus sv:Papyrus ru:Папирус zh:莎草纸

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