The ancient technology of making material that replaced paper for Egyptian priests and officials has been forgotten for many centuries. The reason for this is not only the state monopoly on the production of papyrus and the zealous protection of the secrets of the craft, but also climate change in the Nile Delta and environmental problems. As a result of the latter, papyrus in Egypt practically died out. It was only in the second half of the 20th century that the enthusiast Hassan Ragab took care of the revival of this plant and the study of the possibilities of its application. It is thanks to his research that the process of making papyrus is known to modern man.
The meaning of papyrus for the ancient Egyptians
Tropical moisture-loving plant related to sedges and akin to satiety, several thousand years ago formed impressive thickets on the swampy banks of the Nile in its lower reaches. Papyrus is a tall, smooth shoot crowned with an "umbrella" of narrow lanceolate leaves. The papyrus inflorescence resembles a fan, consisting of many spikelets. The trihedral papyrus stem is rigid,flexible and durable.
It was used as a material for furniture, boats, rafts. Ropes, baskets, shoes were made from the shell. The dried roots of the plant were used as fuel. The soft part of the shoot, which was under water, was eaten. The same part was ideal for making "paper".
Papyrus making steps: splitting, "assembling", drying under pressure, polishing, gluing
The lower part of the stem was peeled, releasing the dense, fibrous and sticky pulp. It was split into thin plates 40-50 cm long. Modern technology involves soaking the strips for several days.
The finished plates (fillers) were overlapped on a flat surface covered with cloth and leather: the first layer was parallel to the edge of the table, the second was perpendicular. At first, the width of the finished sheet was no more than 15 cm, but later the Egyptians learned how to make fairly wide canvases. During the laying process, the material was wetted with water from the Nile.
Then the sheets were placed under the press. This was necessary in order for the strips to stick together, and the papyrus to become thin and uniform.
Nuances and little-known facts
What is the technology of making papyrus, it is easy to explain. All the complexity lay in the nuances. So, the longer the papyrus was kept under pressure or pre-soaked, the darker it turned out. It was important not to delay the process: the Egyptians preferred light material. Sheet surfacetreated with a special compound that prevented the ink from spreading. It was made from vinegar, flour and boiling water. Taking the sheets out from under the press, the craftsmen beat them off with special hammers and smoothed them with polishing stones, pieces of wood or bone. Prepared papyri were dried in the sun. Then they were glued together to make a scroll. The Egyptians paid attention to the direction of the fibers, so it was almost impossible to detect a "seam". They wrote, as a rule, on one side (which the Romans later called recto). The manufacture of papyrus in ancient Egypt was put on stream. They sold it in rolls: “cuts” and “by weight”.
Papyrus in antiquity
"Pa per aa", or "the material of the kings", - so called their "paper" the Egyptians themselves. They began to use papyrus as early as the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Greeks borrowed the term, slightly changing its pronunciation. It should be noted that Egypt provided the entire ancient world with papyrus, and this continued until about 800 AD. e. Decrees, artistic and religious texts were written on it, colorful illustrations were made. In the 1st century A. D. e. the historian Pliny the Elder in his work "Natural History" touched upon the question of what is the technology for making papyrus. However, the information he provided was rather meager in order to restore the craft.
According to Strabo and Pliny, there were several varieties of papyrus. August, Livy and Hieratic were considered the best during the Roman Empire. Followedamphitheater (Alexandrian), Saite and Teneot. All of them were intended for writing. The Egyptians also traded "merchant paper" - cheap "wrapping" papyrus.
Revival of craft secrets
"What is the technology for making papyrus?" - This question began to worry Hassan Ragab, the Egyptian ambassador to the Celestial Empire, when he met a Chinese family that was engaged in the production of paper in the traditional way. This was in 1956. Returning to his homeland, Ragab bought land for a plantation, brought local papyrus from Sudan and engaged in scientific research. Ragab and his students succeeded in making a papyrus that was not inferior in quality to the most ancient samples. Talented Egyptian artists painted on it: copies of illustrations found in the tombs and original works.
It is still difficult to say whether the modern Ragaba papyrus will be as durable as the ancient Egyptian one. In addition, the climate has changed, it has become more humid, and papyrus deteriorates from moisture. It is also not known how accurately Ragab reproduced the process of papyrus manufacture. Perhaps he brought something of his own to it. But, one way or another, modern scrolls and decorative panels are successfully sold, and information about the technology of making papyrus is available to every inquisitive tourist.
