Papyrus is a primitive type of paper made from the stalks of the papyrus plant, a reed native to the Mediterranean. The Ancient Egyptians invented papyrus, which allowed the technique to spread across the Mediterranean, paving the way for the development of other flexible writing materials such as vellum and, eventually, modern paper. Ancient papyrus can be found thanks to Egypt’s unique climate, which can be used to learn more about Egyptian culture.
Written records were kept on clay, wax, or stone tablets before the invention of paper. These tablets would have been difficult to use and transport, and they would have taken up a lot of room. The Egyptians revolutionized recordkeeping and the accessibility of the written word when they developed papyrus, allowing them to keep extensive records on a wide range of topics. Archaeologists have used papyri to learn about Egyptian art, commerce, religious beliefs, and other aspects of Egyptian culture, and being able to examine these records has been a great book for them.
The stalks of the reeds are macerated in water and then beaten to split the reeds to make papyrus. The reeds are beaten, then laid over each other in two layers that run at right angles to each other, pressed, and dried. The layers of papyrus pull together as it dries, resulting in a fairly strong, durable paper that was traditionally polished with stones to make it easier to write on.
Papyrus was stored by the Egyptians in the form of scrolls, with pieces of the paper attached for particularly long documents. These scrolls have been remarkably well preserved in Egypt’s arid, hot climate, with numerous extant examples discovered by historians. Papyrus rots and falls apart in humid climates, and untold numbers of papyri were lost when scrolls were transported to Europe; many more were lost when papyrus was burned in the fireboxes of steam trains by English colonists in the 19th century. Papyri collections are now stored in climate-controlled environments to reduce the risk of damage.
The coarse texture of papyrus would take some getting used to for those who are used to modern paper. Several companies produce genuine papyrus, primarily as a novelty, and a few others incorporate papyrus fibers into their paper for a taste of the exotic without the drawbacks of true papyrus.