CalamusPapyrus01

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Papyrus was invented very early on in Egypt's history. Examples have survived from the 1st Dynasty (3100-2890 BCE) and it was used continuously until the 11th century CE

Papyrus was made from a reed like plant that grew in the marshes of the river Nile. The plant grew to a height of about 10 feet.

When harvested, the hard outer fibers were peeled away and the core was sliced into strips.

After soaking, the strips were pounded and the water drained away. The strips were then placed side by side, overlapping slightly.

A second set of strips was then placed at right angles to the first, again overlapping slightly.

They were again pounded and left to dry under a heavy weight.
Enough sugar remained in the strips to seal them together.

Finally, the surface was polished to a smooth finish by rubbing with a stone or block of wood. The surface was then ready for writing with paint or ink.

Papyrus is a reed which grew abundantly along the banks of the Nile in Lower Egypt and, in fact, became the symbol for Ancient Lower Egypt. When looking at a cross section of the papyrus reed, it appears to be triangular in shape. The ancient Egyptians repeated this shape in many aspects of their life and artwork including the Pyramids at Giza. The reed itself served several purposes. The most familiar, is the paper on which to write. The Egyptians would cut the reeds into approximately eighteen inch sections, then roll or press the fiber of the reeds so as to eliminate the water and flatten the reed. The fibers were then laid side by side and a second layer either placed over the top at right angles or basket woven with the first layer. The sheet was placed between pieces of fabric and pressed between heavy stone slabs for six days. As the papyrus sheet dried, it became a substantial piece of paper for writing and painting. The oldest known books today are in the form of papyrus rolls. As mentioned, the papyrus had other uses as well. It was used for mattresses on beds, for building chairs, tables, and other furniture as well as for boats.

Calamus Papyrus is the Egyptian Papyrus, the fibrous stems of which provided the earliest form of paper known.

This plant had various economic uses, as Pliny and other writers have shown, though as the Egyptians cultivated other Sedges, it is probable that these became more exclusively used for food and fuel, sails and cordage, baskets and sieves, not to speak of punts or canoes to which the prophet Isaiah refers (Isaiah xviii. 2), where the Ethiopians are spoken of as sending ambassadors by the sea even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters (the Hebrew word is gome). The papyrus was, in ancient times, carefully cultivated, especially in certain districts of Lower, and probably of Upper Egypt also, for the great and important purpose with which its name must ever be associated.

For this manufacture the rind was removed, the pith cut in strips and laid lengthwise on a flat board, their edges united by some glue or cement (Pliny says 'Nile water'), and the whole subjected to pressure, compacting the several strips into one uniform fabric. This material was well known to the Ancients, and continued to be used in Europe until the time of Charlemagne, when it was superseded by parchment. It is remarkable that although we have no trace in Scripture of the use of papyrus or other vegetable substance by the Jews for writing purposes, the plant has been found to exist in vast quantities in the Lake Merom at the northern end of the Lake of Tiberias, and in some of the streams which flow into the Mediterranean.

On the other hand, it has disappeared from Egypt, where it once grew in quantity. It is also grown in Sicily and Sardinia, but on a limited scale.

Of the Papyrus, or some allied species of Sedge, Heliodorus relates that the Ethiopians made swift-sailing wherries, capable of carrying two or three men; and the traveler Bruce refers to a similar use of this ancient plant among the modern Abyssinians.

Other writers give similar testimony, and it is highly probable that such light vessels were coated with bitumen, like the rude basket made by Jochabed for the infant Moses (Exod. ii. 3).

The stems of the Papyrus were likewise used for ornamenting Egyptian temples, and crowning the statues of their gods.

This plant, if grown in Britain, requires the aid of a stove to grow it properly, and then it must have a good supply of water.