Papyrus is a naturally common plant near rivers in Africa and the Middle East, but it can be found in almost every corner of the world. consists of the raw material for making papyrus paper, used mainly among the ancient Egyptians as a support for writing.
The papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) is an aquatic plant of the sedge family, with thin, long and flexible stems, used for more than 40 centuries before the Christian era in Egypt and, later, by the Romans, Greeks, Arabs, etc.
Among the various applications given to papyrus, the production of "paper" from the stem of this plant is one of the best known.
In ancient Egypt, the papyrus paper it was done as follows: the stalks were cut to remove the green bark, then rolled into very fine pieces. Then, the blades were wet, arranged horizontally and another layer in the vertical position, forming a web.
Finally, the stem fibers were crushed with a wooden hammer, activating the natural gum contained in the plant. After being constantly compressed, beaten, polished and dried, the papyrus "sheets" were ready to receive writing. Altogether, the process of making the papyrus took an average of 6 to 10 days.
papyrus and parchment
As seen, papyrus is made from the fibers of the stem of the plant that bears the same name as this "paper". The technique for obtaining the papyrus sheet was developed by the ancient Egyptians, over 3,000 years before Christ.
Parchment is considered the "evolution" of papyrus. Unlike papyrus, this type of "paper" was made from the sheep, calves and sheep skin, which were treated with lime and stretched to dry.
The parchment is believed to have appeared around the 2nd century BC. C, in the Pergamon region (now known as Bergama, Turkey).
Like papyrus, producing a parchment was not an easy task. However, the latter has many advantages over the method used by the Egyptians.
Scrolls have greater flexibility and strength, in addition to being reusable. Texts written on parchments, unlike papyrus, could be erased using special equipment that scraped the skin.
Papyrus and parchment were widely used as bases for writing until the mid-eighth century, when paper began to become popular in Europe, a technique that had already been discovered and used by the Chinese since the second century.
Learn more about Parchment it's the Ancient Egypt.
