Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - Papyrus

Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant. The plant was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt.

Papyrus was very important to the ancient Egyptians. It helped transform Egyptian society in many ways. The first use of papyrus paper is believed to have been 4000 BCE. Once the technology of papyrus making was developed, its method of production was kept secret, allowing the Egyptians to have a monopoly on it.

The papyrus plant symbolised ancient lower Egypt.

Papyrus is made from the triangular stem of the plant.

The stem is cut into the desired length.

The outer rind is first stripped off, and the sticky fibrous inner pith was cut into thin strips

The strips are then pounded and soaked in water for 3 days until pliable. The strips are then cut to the length desired and laid horizontally on a cotton sheet overlapping about 1 millimeter. Other strips are laid vertically over the horizontal strips resulting in the criss-cross pattern in papyrus paper. Another cotton sheet is placed on top.

The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with some rounded object, possibly a stone or seashell or round hard wood.

As you can tell from above, papyrus production is labour intensive. In comparison, the production of pulped paper was much cheaper and easier. However, in a dry climate like Egypt's, papyrus is more durable than pulped paper (humid conditions destroy the papyrus material).

(Source: http://www.egyptian-papyrus.co.uk/types_of_papyrus.htm)

Just like there are many different kinds and qualities of paper today, the same was true for papyrus. Each type was used for a different purpose. Very cheaply made coarse papyrus was used by merchants as wrapping papers. The finest and most expensive varieties were reserved for religious or literary works.

The quality of papyrus depended upon several factors: the area the papyrus plant was grown, it's age, the season it was harvested and, most importantly, which layer of the pith was used in manufacturing the paper. The finest papyrus was made using the innermost pith layers and was said to have come from the Delta region.

Papyrus paper also comes in differing colours.

Light papyrus is produced during the standard manufacturing process.

Dark papyrus is produced when the strips are left in water for longer than a week, and sometimes as long as a month. The strips are then pressed for as long as two months. This results in a sheet that takes on a dark brown solid colour, which to some, appears more aged.

Although the dark papyrus looks more authentic and aged, and that it has involved a more expensive production technique, the light coloured papyrus sheets are stronger and more durable. This is because by soaking of the papyrus strips for extensive periods, the strips lose some of the natural glue and the tissue that connects the veins weakens.