

This Business Insider video documents the art and the industry of this ancient craft. Papyrus maker Atef Mohamed Shehata, worker Mona Metwally, and artist Saied Tarakhan are three of the people who are keeping the Egyptian art of papyrus alive.įrom managing a small papyrus sedge farm to employing people in the village workshop, to cutting and pressing the plant fibers, to creating and selling the screen printed art to local tourist vendors, these Egyptians hope to continue the tradition to which their families have been dedicated. They set up plantations and workshops in Al-Qaramous, and papyrus became the center of the local economy. All the steps are made by hand, and the Papyrus. In fact, the very word paper is derived from its name. The process of crafting papyrus paper is a green eco friendly process that goes back thousands of years ago. They also turned the plant into a weaving material for sandals and baskets.Ĭheaper paper made from wood pulp or plant fibers eventually replaced papyrus paper, and the plant became nearly extinct in Egypt by the early 1800s, until an art professor and an engineer brought back seeds from other African countries in the 1970s. Papyrus is the oldest writing material that is in existence today, dating back at least 5,000 years. They used it for things like marriage contracts and shopping lists. A number of these sheets were then joined together with paste to form a roll, with usually not more than 20 sheets to a roll.Egyptians invented papyrus paper at least 5,000 years ago, replacing clay tablets and revolutionizing the written word.
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The paper thus formed was pure white in colour and, if well made, was free of spots, stains, or other defects. The sheet was finally hammered and dried in the sun. Upon drying, the gluelike sap of the plant acted as an adhesive and cemented the layers together. The two layers formed a sheet, which was then dampened and pressed. The fibrous layers within the stem of the plant were removed, and a number of these longitudinal strips were placed side by side and then crossed at right angles with another set of strips.

Pliny the Elder gave an account of the manufacture of paper from papyrus. It was used not only for the production of books (in roll or scroll form) but also for correspondence and legal documents.

Paper made from papyrus was the chief writing material in ancient Egypt, was adopted by the Greeks, and was used extensively in the Roman Empire. The ancient Egyptians used the stem of the papyrus plant to make sails, cloth, mats, cords, and, above all, paper. What is the scientific discipline concerned with dating and interpreting past events according to the analysis of tree rings? What is the name for a central defensively oriented district in ancient Greek cities? Test your knowledge.
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