Secrets of Ancient Egypt: what is the technology of making papyrus? History of papyrus.

Papyrus is a writing material obtained from the plant of the same name (Cyperus papyrus), which grew in the wetlands of the Nile Delta. The papyrus stalk usually reaches 2-3 meters in height, although some of them reached 5 meters.

At present, due to the changing climate, papyrus thickets have practically disappeared, but in ancient times this plant was widely used by the Egyptians for a variety of purposes: rugs, sandals, fabrics, ropes were made from the bark, and the pulp was eaten.

In addition, rafts and boats were made from durable papyrus stems, which is especially important in a country where the main road was the river, and there were no forests.

The most famous of the uses of papyrus is, of course, the manufacture of writing material. Papyrus was made exclusively in Egypt, where plantations of the plant of the same name grew, but was exported to the entire ancient world, and was the most popular writing material among the ancient Greeks and Romans.

To make papyrus sheets, the stems were debarked and the sticky, fibrous inner flesh was cut lengthwise into thin strips about 40 cm long. The resulting strips were laid out overlapping on a flat surface. Another row of strips was laid out on them at a right angle and placed under a press.

After drying, the papyrus sheet was beaten with a hammer. Upon completion of the beating, the papyrus sheet was no thicker than a sheet of modern writing paper, and it was additionally polished with a rounded object (stone, piece of hard wood).

The resulting sheets of papyrus were glued together into scrolls, and at a later time combined into books. The side on which the fibers ran horizontally was the front.

Reading the scroll required certain skills. It was necessary to hold it with both hands, and the reader found himself, as it were, tied to the book. When he finished reading, he rolled up the scroll again, and if it was necessary to read the book again, it had to be rewound beforehand.

Just as now there is paper of various types and qualities, in Egypt there were different kinds papyri. Very cheap papyrus was used by merchants to pack goods, while the best and most expensive varieties were reserved for religious or literary works.

The quality depends on a number of factors. Where the papyrus was grown, the age of the plant, the season it was harvested, and, most importantly, the quality of the pulp used in production all influenced the quality of the finished product.

In the early 20th century, when ancient Egypt became fashionable in the US and Europe, scholars began to investigate how papyrus was produced in antiquity. Several versions were tried, based on the scheme described by Pliny in the Natural History, but no one succeeded in creating a papyrus equal in quality to the ancient ones.

They wrote on papyrus with a reed reed with the end cut obliquely. Holding such a reed under different angles, it was possible to output thick or thin lines. Also, the scribe's accessories included ink powders and a wooden palette with recesses for diluting and mixing paints.

The usual text was written in black ink, and those places that the scribe wanted to emphasize, such as the title, or the beginning of the chapter, he highlighted in red. Black ink in Egypt was made from soot and sticky blood serum. To obtain red ink, blood serum was mixed with red chalk.

Religious texts were accompanied by carefully executed illustrations, which are exemplified by the magnificent illustrations from the Book of the Dead, especially in editions dating back to the heyday of ancient Egyptian culture in the era of the XVIII dynasty. The drawings were skillfully combined with the text or placed between separate columns.

Part of the Book of the Dead. British museum.

The papyri that have come down to us contain not only religious texts. Business and administrative documents, fiction, as well as scientific work in mathematics, astronomy and medicine constitute an essential part of the known papyri.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Library of Alexandria was founded, the largest library in ancient world. Many ancient scholars visited it and worked with the scrolls in it. The Greek physicians Hippocrates, called the "Father of Medicine" and Galen admitted that they drew part of their knowledge from Egyptian medical papyri.

In the dry Egyptian climate, papyrus was well preserved, but under other conditions, mold fungi quickly appeared and the material was destroyed. In European conditions, the life span of papyrus was several tens of years; a two-hundred-year-old papyrus was a rarity.

PApyrus is a writing material obtained from the plant of the same name (Cyperus papyrus), which grew in the wetlands of the Nile Delta. The papyrus stalk usually reaches 2-3 meters in height, although some of them reached 5 meters.

In addition, rafts and boats were made from durable papyrus stems, which is especially important in a country where the main road was the river, and there were no forests.

Scroll

The resulting sheets of papyrus were glued together into scrolls, and at a later time combined into books. The side on which the fibers ran horizontally was the front.

Just as there are different types and qualities of paper today, there were different types of papyri in Egypt. Very cheap papyrus was used by merchants to pack goods, while the best and most expensive varieties were reserved for religious or literary works.

They wrote on papyrus with a reed reed with the end cut obliquely. Holding such a reed at different angles, it was possible to draw thick or thin lines. Also, the scribe's accessories included ink powders and a wooden palette with recesses for diluting and mixing paints.

Part of the Book of the Dead. British museum.

The papyri that have come down to us contain not only religious texts. Business and administrative documents, fiction, and scientific works in mathematics, astronomy, and medicine form a significant part of the known papyri.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Library of Alexandria, the largest library in the ancient world, was founded. Many ancient scholars visited it and worked with the scrolls in it. The Greek physicians Hippocrates, called the "Father of Medicine" and Galen admitted that they drew part of their knowledge from Egyptian medical papyri.

Most of the papyri that have survived to this day were found in Egypt, a small part - in Asia, and only individual fragments - in Greece , although dozens of scrolls and papyrus sheets are depicted on Greek vases dating back to the first centuries BC.

By the year 800 AD, papyrus had largely been replaced by parchment in Europe, but continued to be used in Egypt until it was replaced by cheap paper, the production technology of which was brought by the Arab conquerors.

Nowadays papyrus is produced in small volumes in Egypt and Sicily. It is mainly used for the production souvenir products designed for tourists.

- (Greek). An Egyptian reed plant, as well as a kind of writing paper made from it. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. PAPYRUS 1) perennial herbaceous plant. from the family sedge, in S. ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Papyrus 52, recto ... Wikipedia

papyrus- PAPYRUS, a, m. Cigarettes, cigarettes, "smoke". papyrus is gone. Burned papyrus let me light it... Dictionary of Russian Argo

Modern Encyclopedia

- (Latin papyrus from Greek papyros), 1) a perennial aquatic plant of the sedge family. In tropical Africa, along the banks of rivers and lakes. In ancient times, fabrics, shoes, rafts, shuttles, etc. 2) were made from stems (height up to 5 m) in antiquity and early ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

In antiquity and the Middle Ages, writing material from papyrus stems; also a manuscript on this material. As a material for writing, papyrus was invented in ancient Egypt at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. spread in... Historical dictionary

Cm … Synonym dictionary

Papyrus- PAPYRUS, in antiquity and the Middle Ages, writing material from papyrus stems; also a manuscript on this material. As a material for writing, papyrus was invented in ancient Egypt at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, from the middle of the 1st millennium BC ... Illustrated encyclopedic Dictionary

PAPYRUS, papyrus, male. (Greek papyros). 1. Tropical perennial reed plant, family. sedge. 2. Writing material from this plant among ancient peoples, originally. the Egyptians (source). 3. A literary monument written on this material ... ... Dictionary Ushakov

PAPYRUS, a, husband. 1. Tropical herbaceous plant family sedge. 2. Writing material made from this plant (among the Egyptians and other ancient peoples), as well as a manuscript based on this material. Ancient papyri. | adj. papyrus, oh, oh. ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

- (Cyperus papyrus), a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Syt. Stems up to 5 m high, trihedral, thick, with scaly leaves at the base. The inflorescence is large, umbellate with numerous. cylindrical ears (length 1 2 cm) from small flat ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Books

The Papyrus of Caesar, Ferry J.-Y.. ASTERIX and OBELIX are perhaps the most famous comic book characters, with more than 30 stories written about their adventures. The creators of the series are the famous French writer René Goscinny and his…
The Papyrus of Caesar, Goscinny R., Uderzo A.. ASTERIX and OBELIX are perhaps the most famous comic book characters, with more than 30 stories written about their adventures. The creators of the series are the famous French writer René Goscinny and his…

The ancestors of this plant were of great importance for people, they carried knowledge. And this is impressive, although among others it does not stand out with anything special. This amazing legendary plant is a swamp papyrus, related to our common sedge.

What does the papyrus plant look like, what are the features of caring for it? What is its history and significance in people's lives? You can learn about all this by reading this article.

general information

This plant greatly influenced the development of the entire civilization. It was used to make writing material. What can a person who hears the word "papyrus" imagine? Egypt - hot sands of the desert, camel caravans, pyramids, sphinxes, pharaohs, hard workers-Egyptians and many others. etc. And among all this is the image of a clerk, writing something under the dictation of his master. All this is Ancient Egypt.

The word papu, meaning "royal", is of ancient Egyptian origin. It was from him that the ancient Greek papyrus was formed, which is the name of the well-known material for writing (papyrus).

The birthplace of the plant is Egypt. There it was considered royal.

A bit about ancient writing material

Papyrus (plant) brought great benefits. Pictures and writings made on such material entered the history of Egypt and became exhibits in many museums around the world.

The word "paper" also owes its origin to papyrus. On the German paper - papier, in French - papier, and in English - paper. Carl Linnaeus used the Latinized version of this word as the name of this plant - papyros.

The oldest of all known papyri manuscripts date back to the beginning of the third millennium BC.

Papyrus (plant): photo, description

Papyrus is a perennial herbaceous plant mainly found in Africa. There are other names for this plant - paper reed, papyrus sedge.

Mistakenly, sometimes papyrus can be called satisfactorily alternate. This is a common greenhouse or ornamental houseplant.

A dwarf relative of papyrus, reaching a height of one meter, is Cyperus nanus or Cyperus profiler.

Natural papyrus is a huge plant (up to 5 meters high, up to 7 cm in diameter) with practically leafless shoots. Its triangular-shaped stems grow from a thick, woody rhizome, with brown, scaly, underdeveloped leaves at the base of each stem. At the end of the stem is a large inflorescence in the form of an umbrella, which has young plant the shape of a feather duster for dusting furniture.

The bundle at the end of the branch has bright green stems up to 30 centimeters long. Each of them branches into 3-5 rays of the 2nd order, equipped with drooping narrow covering leaves. At their top are green-brown spikes up to 2 centimeters long. Papyrus bloom usually occurs in late summer. Brown fruits are very similar to nuts.

Pollination of papyrus, like most sedges, occurs with the help of the wind, not insects. Ripe fruits spread through the water.

inflorescences of this amazing plant serve as a great place for nesting birds of various species.

Where does the papyrus plant grow in nature?

The geographical distribution of the plant is the most diverse. These are subtropical and humid forests with annual temperature ranges from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius and hydrogen content in the range of 6.0-8.5 pH. For successful flowering, a favorable factor is a good solar lighting. Papyrus, like many tropical plants, is very sensitive to cold.

Large thickets of this plant are mainly found in wetlands, on shallow lakes and along the banks of the rivers of the most humid areas of Africa. Today, papyrus is found less and less frequently in the Nile Delta. In deeper waters, it is the main component of the huge masses of floating plants called Sudd.

This plant can be found in the Mediterranean regions (Levant and Sicily), and in Madagascar.

About the papyrus ornamental plant

Cyperus (papyrus) - indoor plant, moisture-loving, similar to both a small palm tree and an umbrella. It, unlike its naturally growing relatives, can feel good even in the shady part of the room, among other house flowers or in interior ponds.

On the grassy stem of the plant there are nodes, from where narrowish leaves grow, forming an umbrella.

Known cyperus grown at home, only a few species. Umbrella grows up to one and a half meters. It has very narrow long leaves linear shape (length 24 cm). These cyperus are also found with leaves that have white stripe. Panicles of yellow inflorescences emerge from their axils.

The shortest member of the family is sprawling cyperus with stems up to 90 centimeters high and with many leaves up to 30 cm long. This is the most common species among home gardeners.

Care

Cyperus (papyrus) is a plant that is quite unpretentious in cultivation. At the same time, it still acquires a special decorative effect in a room that is lighter and protected from direct sunlight during the hot season. This plant does not like heat at all. Optimum temperature for him in the summer is 20-22˚С, in winter - at least 12˚С.

You need to water the cyperus through the pan, since the roots should always have access to moisture. For him, humidity is also of great importance, so you should spray its leaves more often. Feed the plant with complex fertilizer in summer and spring twice a month.

Per appearance reduced to the removal of dried and yellowed leaves. You can repot the plant throughout the year, as it grows, when the roots become very crowded.

The basis of the substrate should be peat land, and the drainage layer should occupy at least a quarter of the pot. In connection with the latter condition, the pot for this plant needs a deep and not very wide. To reduce evaporation from above, the soil should be covered with a small layer of sand.

Conclusion

Papyrus (plant) went down in history mainly as a raw material for the manufacture of fine writing material. Many libraries and museums around the world store the oldest papyri. In Cairo there is a museum in which the exhibit is one of the oldest papyrus scrolls. The British Museum has an artifact from an Egyptian tomb - a papyrus calendar. He is 3000 years old. Papyrologists, thanks to these amazing finds, continue to reveal new secrets of the life of the entire ancient world and ancient egypt.

As for indoor cyperus, it is known to help people with persistent headaches and insomnia. In addition, this plant should be kept in the house for people who are insecure, indecisive and aggressive. Cyperus will help to normalize the situation.