What is papyrus?
Quick answer
Papyrus was the main writing material of ancient Egypt, made from the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), a tall reed that grew along the Nile. Egyptians used it from about 3000 BC, and it spread across the Mediterranean world. The English word “paper” comes from “papyrus.”
How papyrus was made
Making a sheet took skill but only simple tools. The basic method went like this:
- Harvest the tall, triangular stems of the papyrus plant.
- Peel off the green outer layer and cut the inner pith into long, thin strips.
- Soak the strips in water.
- Lay one layer of strips side by side, then lay a second layer across them at a right angle.
- Press or pound the layers together; the plant’s natural juices act as glue.
- Dry the sheet in the sun, then smooth it with a stone or shell.
Sheets were glued end to end to make scrolls, some more than 30 m long.
What was written on papyrus
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Religious texts | The Book of the Dead, guides to the afterlife |
| Medical knowledge | The Edwin Smith Papyrus, an ancient surgical text |
| Mathematics | The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus |
| Daily life | Letters, contracts, tax records, shopping lists |
| Literature | Stories and poems |
Scribes wrote with reed pens and inks made from soot (black) and ochre (red).
Why so many papyri survived in Egypt
Papyrus decays in damp climates, but Egypt’s dry desert preserved huge numbers of documents, especially in tombs and rubbish heaps. At Oxyrhynchus, archaeologists found hundreds of thousands of papyrus fragments.
Papyrus vs paper
| Papyrus | Paper | |
|---|---|---|
| Made from | Layered strips of plant pith | Pulped fibers, matted together |
| Invented | Egypt, about 3000 BC | China, about 2nd century BC (improved by Cai Lun around AD 105) |
Parchment (animal skin) and then paper gradually replaced papyrus in Europe and the Middle East.
Other words from papyrus
The Greek word biblos (book) came from Byblos, a Phoenician port that traded papyrus, which also gave us the word “Bible.”
Egyptian gods appeared in many papyrus texts; see the jackal-headed god Anubis. For how writing began, see the first writing system.
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