Egyptian Papyrus
Item Early Dynastic Period

Egyptian Papyrus

Egyptian papyrus is one of the earliest forms of writing material, made from the pith of the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus) that grew abundantly along the Nile River. The manufacturing process involved cutting the stem into thin strips, laying them in overlapping horizontal and vertical layers, pressing them together, and drying them to create a smooth writing surface. The resulting sheets were light brown in color, flexible yet durable, and could be joined together to form scrolls of various lengths. These scrolls served as the primary medium for written documentation in ancient Egypt for over 4000 years, from circa 3000 BCE to 1000 CE.

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Discovery location: Throughout Egypt
Current location: Major collections are housed in the British Museum, Cairo Museum, Berlin Egyptian Museum, Louvre, and various university collections worldwide.
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Related Subjects

Event Contemporary

Rosetta Stone Discovery

French soldiers discovered the Rosetta Stone near the town of Rosetta (Rashid) in July 1799 during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. The trilingual decree would eventually become the key to deciphering Eg...
Civilization

Ancient Egypt

Dynastic civilization along the Nile from early unification through the Ptolemaic period.
Item Ptolemaic Period

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Cited Sources

The Rosetta Stone

E.A. Wallis Budge · Book

Budge, E.A. Wallis. (1913). "The Rosetta Stone". British Museum. Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA24

Lettre a M. Dacier

Jean-Francois Champollion · Manuscript

Champollion, Jean-Francois. (1822). "Lettre a M. Dacier relative a l'alphabet des hieroglyphes phonetiques". Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1047030

"The Great Sphinx of Giza, 1931 - Egypt Museum". Available at: https://egypt-museum.com/the-great-sphinx-of-giza-1931/

Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III

Unknown author · Website

"Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III". Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortuary_Temple_of_Amenhotep_III

"What Happened to the Great Library of Alexandria? Learn What ...". Available at: https://mymodernmet.com/library-of-alexandria/

"The boring truth about the Library of Alexandria - YouTube". Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4WU8gqrgsQ

"Medicine and Healing Practices in Ancient Egypt". Available at: https://liverpooluniversitypress.blog/2023/12/18/medicine-and-healing-practices-in-ancient-egypt/

"The Great Library of Alexandria: How Its Destruction Set Humanity ...". Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternativeHistory/comments/1ef3dmx/the_great_library_of_alexandria_how_its/

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