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9.+Papyrus

Papyrus, derived from the Cyperus papyrus plant, was the primary writing material in ancient Egypt, used continuously from the Early Dynastic period through the Greco-Roman era. The plant's decline in Egypt is attributed to ecological changes, agricultural practices, and the rise of paper as an alternative writing medium. Despite its historical significance, the exact subspecies of papyrus used for writing remains uncertain, and its cultivation has diminished over time due to various environmental and social factors.

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51 views14 pages

9.+Papyrus

Papyrus, derived from the Cyperus papyrus plant, was the primary writing material in ancient Egypt, used continuously from the Early Dynastic period through the Greco-Roman era. The plant's decline in Egypt is attributed to ecological changes, agricultural practices, and the rise of paper as an alternative writing medium. Despite its historical significance, the exact subspecies of papyrus used for writing remains uncertain, and its cultivation has diminished over time due to various environmental and social factors.

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Papyrus ting material made from the papyas plant Cy Mopys [was the most important surface for Te Mrrten informatio used by the ancient Fayp Sod they themselves evidently regarded it a the ting ground (geal accounts of papyras in enter of Paraonic Egypt inch Woenig 1886: 74~ “ackeim and Drar 1930: 99-145 Cm 195: Lat ‘y7-40, 364: Weber 1969: I-13: Raga 1980b; TBs: Germer 985 248-50, Manniche 1985 foot Putkinson snd Qunke 1995), Varios ther ma fs were used for Egyptian scripts writen with «pen, as ontac at, bh others and fakes of ime animal skins and tables of wood (r occasionally slo) The cist ear papyrus i a blank cll rom Early Dynastic tom of Hemaka (amb 3035) a Sq dating tothe begining ofthe third menu BC: ‘wooden box A small fattened rll of unin ‘Papyrus was the ste conten (Emery 1938: ay). Use of papyrus was continuous throughout Dy ic and Greco Roman Epp, into the Byzantine and namic perinds, The test exant papyrus isan Ar document dated AD 108 (Pattie and Turner 1974: 7) fers tke the form af whole rolls, or sheets or srps cat roll and in later prods codices (ha is, books ‘op of felded sheet rguherings of folded sets, Tach in the manner of s moder sched hardhac me Prodaction ofthe wrting tater had cine by the severth to eighth centres AD, when we se thei ‘eraed we of anima kins (for example parchment) and paper made rom macersd plan esis, ‘Taxonomy and distribution ofthe papyrus plant he taronomy ofthe plants complex and need not be Ascursed at length here. The genus name is Cypens, of hich there ate more than 600 species, one of them be ing C. papyrus Tae genus Cyperus belongs to the substan al Eamly of Cypercee, or Sedgs, which in tur belongs to the lager esssiation of monocotyedons. ‘These ‘onsttate one of the wo great divisions of flowering Plants: monocoledons contr one sed lef, and dicoy- Fedons contain two. Cyperr papyrus Lis the botanical ‘name given tothe plant. The 'V'tands for Linmaeus, the [atin form of the name ofthe Swedish botanist Linné, vn fist clasfed the plant sing the reproductive sys {em in his work Species Plantarum, publisbed in 1753 (Li imaeus 1753: 1,47) Various botanists since that time have eccribed it, comparing samples fom various geographi ‘all areas and naming or renaming the diferent subspe- ‘Sex. There ae minor botanical differences between these, but the exact subspecies used in antigay fr making the ‘wring materia cannot be aiesed with any certain, Ecological shifts over many cetures affecting the content of Nile water andthe surbuncing sol mast have caused ‘ange, small or otherwise (nthe plants we are able to ‘examine today. However, certain subspecies ofthe plant do make beter papyrus eet han others (ep 228-9) ‘Today the plant in the wild is widely distributed over trge swamplands jn Cental and East Afi, where it ‘roms profusely (Cater 19553) and also parts of West ‘sea (Nielen 198s: #3). In sion it grows in Sicily, land has also been found i Palestine (Tackholm and Drat 1950: 136). It doesnot grow a the Egyptian Nile Valley today, other than modern horticultural or commercial reintoductons. However, tavlles fom medieal times tant the nineteenth century reported seeing it still grow ng, parsley in the eovirens of Danita and Lake ‘Manzala in Lower Egypt (Ticktolm and Drar 1950: 133-4) ecu of is disappearance, tere has been some debate fs to whether papyros was ever indigenous to Egypt, oF might have ben imported tere asa cultivar (Tackiclm land Drar 1950: 139). At the end of the eighteenth century, Janes Bruce, im his Travel to Discover the Source ofthe Nie (0790) argued against previous writers that nether the iin steam of the Nile nor Egypt could have been the proper home of papyrus, emaikng that it ‘seems tome to Eve early come down from Epi, that “its head is oo Ihe and that the ‘stalk small and feeble, and withall too tl the rot to short and slender to stay it aguinst the ‘olent pressure ofthe wind and curent, and therefore I do constantly believe it never could be a plant growing in ‘he Nile itself or in any very deep or rapid ver (Bruce 1790: Va: of Tacbaln and rat 1950" 139-40) Brace wil have been influenced in his account by his quite incoret bli that hieroglyphic writing fll into disuse before papyrus began to be employed. However, epreschlainal evidence in Ue musnerouy depictions of vid papyrus in marshes and hunting scene, and the ‘ajo woe ofthe papyrus stem a8 a symbol, for example in temple archtecure, make it implausible f reject the a: cepted view thatthe plant was both indigenous and, inthe Pharaonic period, widespread in the Egyptian Nile Valle. "The disappearance ofthe plant fom Egypt cold per- haps be explained in several ways: ecolopealy, agri. tualy and culturally. Fry, the sting up and obetruc- tion of the channels and waterways where the papyris grew mast have been a major factor. Tackholm and Drar {ag5er 143) daw atension to the fat that cen branches ofthe Nile in the Delt had completely dried wp "within ‘he Christian and Ealy Islamic periods’, thus inhibiting the flow of fresh water to the papyrus and other plant Inbitats and depriving the roots of ther esentil supply of water. The papyrus rootstock is anchored very shallowly ‘nthe sll and it would be one ofthe fist plants to disap. pear ifits habitat were altered in such a way, Also, rising Saliation ofthe si, a process which has increased over Jong period of time, may have been a factor. As estly as 1902, Alfed Lucas (1902: 8) conducted, for agricalizal Purposes, a survey of the soil and water In the Fayu Province, to determine the presence of injurious sal Conditions inthe Fayum wil be diferent fom thore in the Nile Valley, But it is remaviabl that Lucas found that the sal levels in some soils were indeed high: over ten times the level regarded to be harmful to crops (sce p. 22}. I's doubtful whether the character ofthe water of the Nile iself had any bearing on the plan's disappesr- ance. The chemical content of water inthe swamp habitats of Uganda, where papyrus sil grows wld, is evidently suitable for papyrus growth. In 1953, GS, Cater carried Dut am extensive survey of the chemical content ofthe waters of the papyrus swamps of Uganda (1953 26).1t Comparable tothe chemical content of Nie water analysed by Leas in the eaiytwenteta century when testing Nile ‘water and soll fom various Tocations in Egypt forthe Survey Department in Clr (sas 1998: 30-1). the two ses of dala are reviewed, chlorine content, absorbed oy: gen and the presence of nitrogenous matter ate compat She, eventing into account tucsuations due tothe am maf Ep nb Up = Secondly, sources of papyrus might Ihave simply become depleted, since it was ed 382 1a ‘material for many item, such ax matting rope, boats, Sandals and mumerous hinds of everyday objec, qu apart fom its decorative uses and its consumption a8 3 food (Dixon 1972: Day, Ghalioangui, and Grivett 97), “Theol and Drae(:950: 41-2) point out hit og any wild plat tied for centuries would enema ‘come exhaused, unless eaefl ulated. “Thirdly as Tckolm snd Drat (£956: 14) alo y papyrus habitats were located a the banks of the Nie its subsidiary channels and waterways; there ‘ould naturaly be in populated areas: Here: demure ‘ope and possibly pasturing would erentsly hare seded the demand for papyrus, and the land woul ‘een putt other uses ‘Aside fom these ecological and agricultural reap the social ané political climate must have played «pa its demise. There is evidence that the Greeks coal ‘papyrus production (Lewis 1974 14, the extent of ‘toying plans not within thet official farsdetion, policy was perhaps continued by the Romane and # ‘abe. Its cificalt to tll 3 fare im the supply apyrus, oa aew demand for paper was the more reso sible forthe fic thatthe use of paper began increas to supplant tat of papyrus in the seventh and cig centuries AD. Paper could be produced fom the pulp several diferent plants, and therefore its production ‘ot limited te certain loatons, a= presumably was Bi ‘ise with paprus. Once the dersand forthe wring ru terial ceased, the few remaining plantations were petapy siven overt ater uses “The extent o which papyrus was culated for maki 4 wrtinggroind or for other’ purposes in Phar Egypt a8 opposed growing wd state must have been considerable, and it fllows tha there must have been some control over the way in whi itwas grown and harvested. Another question that west 1s whether the uncultivated variety was suitable for mae ‘ng the writing mater. tis possible that ony cated plats were wed fr this purpose, while pechaps the wi plants might have been used fr ether items, such soe, ‘Sepdals and boats. The superb appearance of many apy rus rolls suring from the Dynastic period sugges tat feat care must have been taken in choosing the cores lant at the optimum time ints growth, Papyrus of exe let quality known equal fom te Eatin Ol Middle and New Kingdoms. Athough it bas often bee stated thatthe overal quali of papyrus worsened dung the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods, such a decline cannot be sen to have begun in Pharaonic Egypte tion is confined to the best surviving examples, Hower Inferior papyrus slo now from ll pecods, Thi mst raise the question of whether papyrus wae sometimes ‘ade frm wld stock or even fot different sedge pl (seep, 229), hus producing a poorer quality product. ‘Also, although Cypers papyrus Lis the general name for the plant species, there ze many subspecies. They display only minor botanical diferences, but these m3} affect the qualty ofthe Bnished writing ground. This Wat io 1968 when new asbaacs ofhe ‘ind pong wi athe Wait Nan West Sh er Dsl ed fom the Univers of a0 Be ST poration of pees papa Lem aa AE alengucs subsequent amuficred Show. Albogh mar posible to male eer om tee pant roe wor oh san tat employing pas cle om “rien Caio (agp 98: s) Tecan be stave af cones whether he ance Feyptins Ait ef the neo of ing spr ib Ee making the watinggoand. and clvated at pst carted a sever Sat pent cated sever locaton in 2 sup the toss wade pated paprat Te it plantation of ts Nye in Fp wae Soy Hassan Rapa in 1962, being wih oe Som th Zoslogcl Carden Cao fag 980 By nd ner wh rss of the past fom the Soden 2085S). How sma hs at fst the ‘Shey aa lt sgl hme Ime a 1975, appt to be of exelent ql ong, Rel, opegu, of ceayhe cow and i hace arn, Une, pedo some mantis nee ince filth odin of cxmics uses tnd nthe manalacurng poets age 988 58). oral shee fst se a, bile a ler” Micscape (SEM) eaination of ancient nnn pyres asso at ix pone et “pine plant wed in sre cane (Sima 1087.1 08 Kind tat in one madera shee Cyeras pears ance seep od plenty np had fren aed, podung se papa sheet ntereningy viens compare ade foc he ae! pores Taples and moter sper se from Cpa L The shlert specinen proves faves mich more ered fi compact ell scr than that of to moder Sone in tte scent pps was a iis fom the oder pro a there el pap fromthe ace, uggeing tf hee spies were Gl the plano he manic proces had been ‘fant diferent i ancient times Description of the plant apy i a perennial Freshwater plat. I Egypt eopaga- tion may be eflected by rootstock division In spring or summer (Tieldolin and Drar 950: 100). In moder es, ‘his hasbeen the unual method of essing new plan tins, but plants have also been grown succesfully fom feed (Ragab1o80b: 55-63). The plant itself itl, green and leafs, Much of Plin’sdeserption (Nat Hist XITL22 Ips see Mayhotf 1909; Rackham 1968) is accurate. He ayn, Tt bara sloping root thick ab a man’s arm, and tapers actly up with angular ies to length fot etn abot oe endig in ead ike 3th Cod aed y wether ef ac (ons foe 7 worhipers ef Bcc (Diy Taped aficone oraclatert rapes rf (Racbare "Sedo Te neato whic eerste mb, otc cad anc i he baal seat te ono the scm which about 8 cm tick when ily tw (ee Fig 93) Od branches die ot consi {Ging sampled mass of thizomes, These mount bout 60 cn abo sol land fom them the new Shoots gow for anage the pan res mani on hit in tani mars amongst which here apace tonet Gad plat mela sediment Theo reso {nd ale peat ony ater and wotersrted ol sin hun (Bey 196 ga). Papa 28 4 Sedge. fvur thc swaps Sal terri {Bio sepa oc hie tte edge f ait bodies of freh water in sheered sree in ggsh er, or ‘thre the ground into watesoggd and ree water {eumules onthe surce or some perio of te ea ened goving paces pars ecu lon he tania of the We or along ove of the munerour er Branches and chanel in he De ifthe stm ofthe pan nglrin ros etn seat totaly andthe whi pide exon, can be fecn tt he ph consist of oncsnaen wich er bre embedded. The ground nie i made up of ue ‘ip cel Insbnpe ese ae tree armel nny Stevacedinatontcomb ike networking vert inert sr rescaled "serena ning ‘trougoat te lng of he se, In easton the rechyns cls apes be een sang rnd [Recipes The penchya calls oem contain one of Imre cen onl cle. bu re oterise empty thea 1960 205-6) One nei found in small Sous neat al pin, nd slid ryt of sae {ilcum colt tre efi found Im paces (etcher ‘Sar 26) The parenchyma cl wa re sii else Sed her cthone Tara tothe sc pssge rn many Sbre,o fro ‘asrlar bundles embeedin the parenhymost mater Those pages seo cay fdand water tte omer head ete se ih and suport. The rex are made up of ler cll wich cary water ad have iiguled wale phloem cel which ry od nd hve cline wal etaife1969 205-6: Ragab 980 37-9) Ttsthesfbromasclar bundles wich othe naked ee re fue prominent etre of ppyes sheet raing ver. Slip bora nd the peenchymos mater {hat fle and cover this fre netork Abo vise on a nied sheet of papa se tanmenal ommisnl ‘nls sorefredar diaphragm alls which connect Sevan buns (ele sg69 205-6 Raab 8b Sovae) Thrwennbe seen ey Seay by namie’ et 3° ‘gun 93 The sons and overheads of papas plate) ‘halon, eka hate (theses ond feed rani Jnowith he naked eye, satered throughout the ma re of papyrus asa writing ground Gabe apreciated from the structure ofthe plant itis2 feiable species fom which o proces this parteular sf weting surface. The vascular bundles serve to give Mets strength by forming a structure, in his case 2 se network, and the parenchymous material fills ves body o this armework The lower portion ofthe Pris wsed for papyrus manufacture (see aso p23) ite thicker and has moe pith, Secondly, because the fun the length ofthe ster, which pest he top, it flows hat the fibres are more densely packed a the tp, Lng this prt ofthe stem more brous. “Te only surviving ancient acount ofthe manufacture sym given by Pliny (Nat. Hist XITL23 (74-7 1968: 142-5; Mayhoff 1909: 442-4). This prob- tie desrption has been much discussed (eg with lographies, Lewis 1974: BulowJacobsen 1676; ef Ba- Jacobsen 1986), Many modern writers eg, Lueas 1962: Lewis 1974: 34-695 Nicen 198558; Mend 1988) sacent examples, and from the experience of various ndi+ ‘aula who have made papyrus shows in more recent yeas, such as Bruce (790! ¥.§, PP. 9-10), and, inthis {entuy, Gunn sche, Lacs, Baker Leas 1963: 138-0), 1977) Leach 1975 6-14), Owen and Danzing (1995: 6-8) and, mos recent Iy Basle and Di Natale (996) and De Bignicour and Fleder (1996: 488-93, the basic method can reasonably Dededuced to have been as flows (ee Fig 9.2) Cut the stems into manageable lengths and peel ‘rea the vind, ~ Thinly slice the pth into strips Iongitadinaly, along ‘one ofits thee fat sides, ~ Lay series ofthe strips onto a board, side by sie, just touching cach ober, or lghtyoveapping, © make te fst yer = Laya socond similar layer of strips over them aright ~ rr the toys gether nd albwthem todry ‘The basic process seems uncommonly simple. How- vet, questions of craft practice aise, unanswered by Pliny’ account, o by the various papyrasmaking exper ‘ments undertaken in modern times. Feet here ist Some discussion as to whether the sips were butted up to ‘ach other or orecapped. Examination of ancient material by the authors suggests that both methods could be used, and that in any one papyrus rol the technique employed as fly consistent. In some badly made ancient papyrus, ‘occasional narrow gaps may be observed in one ofthe two layers of papyrus, where for a few centimetres the edges of ‘prostps donot gute meet. This may have been du othe use of slighty damaged strips, rather than mere carless- ea in laying the strpe down Tn modem tials, both methods have been used, with seemingly smile result. In his experiments, Baker fs ‘oured busting wp, possibly secking to avoid ridges where th to les overlapped (Lucas 1962: 139). However, apyrus strip, before presingor beating are made up of onsiderableamount of ar which is expeled during msn facture, The wip i reduced ater pressing end dying to Jess than a quarter of is orginal thickness (Ragab 1985 HG) Tis proces allows plenty of cope fr unevenneses to be reduced by the time thatthe papyrus has dred. ‘Therefore the danger of forming ridges is almost neg: able Alto, cierlaping the strips would naturally reduce {he posit of the gape tha could eeu ifthe strips were rot buted upto one another suficenty closely, Baker, Fowever, found that sil in Taying down the strips could ‘enure that mo gape occured. “Another recent proposed theory as tothe manufacture of a papyrus sheet argues thatthe outer tnd was Brst ‘removed, and then 2 nocdlelike implement was used to ee off the pith in a unzolling action, thus obtaining one ontinvous sce. Two such layers woul then be combined to produces papyrus sheet. Hendriks was the st inves: tigate this pessbity in detail, and it bas become known among pepyoogists a6 the “Hendriks method’ or the “Groningen olution’ .as samples were used from Botanical Gardens of Groningen State University (Hendriks 1980 1984; comments by Turner 1980; Lewis 1981; Holwerda 1982: Levis 1989: 16-2). Some experiments have been carried out wth fesh papyrus stems using both the shicing fnd the unvalng methods and comparing them under SEM and a stereo microscope (Wallert 1985). The result ‘was thatthe ‘eeled” papyrus ad an uneven surface texture ‘hat was idersfable under the microscope "However, pplyng the knowledge gained to ancient ma- ‘eral as bon less success and ulate inconchusive Ibo appears that It snot eaey to peel te pi in this unsoling fashion. Both Waller (c985: ) and Owen and Danzing (195: 37] found it fic to acompish without hols tears and unevenness inthe ayer. However, tis nat Impossible at ancient craftsmen might have developed such kil, Another objection that nas been raise is that the stem ofthe papyrus plant tapers, however sigh, and thus it would be impossible by the Hendriks method to produces continuous layer in which te bres continued ‘un parallel with each oter throughout the shee. If strips axe used, the tapering ofeach individual step is mini, and compeneation can even be made for this by reversing the diretionof alternate sie, “A few instances have been reported of the apparent smanufacure of papyrus sees in three layers. Budge ° © Fare s2 Sgeafpaprs mana) icing pith int rip (ying deo fi aero ri, (ying dow De sone b igh angle) ee ray be bse, or ree phe ‘aimed ha he GreenfieléPapyrsin the Britsh Museum (ace Fig. 9.3) was writen upon papyrs of this kind: The ‘material composed of three layers of papyrus, suppl by Plante which measured in the stalks about 4 inches in ameter (Budge 19:2: wie), Unfortunately the apy. ‘us is mounted upon a paper backing, and the stucure ‘not be ssgestd from surface examination two be ‘censry to emove the backing from the papyrus in rder {o examine lt over tansmited light, orto lft up the aes. ‘either interference can be justified inthe case of apy rus which i in partieuarly good condition and need no Conaeraton treatment. As mentioned by Cera (1952: 2.10), Fbes, in his edition ofthe medial papyas that bears is mame, quoted Schenk (Professor of Botany at Leipzig) as stating that coarser papyrus was manufactured fiom thre layers (8753) Schenk seems to have examined very few samples, and w have noted thre ayers in a Book Of the Dead in the Leipzig Library. Cerg states that he Tangled ever encountered hetayered papyrus BalowJacobsen (1978) desrtbes a Greek teary papyrus, hich is probably of the theeayered type 'No example bas yet been reported of papyrus orginally smanufacated in more than thre layers Its necese3y % Aistinguish other restons that can make papyrus ake on 2 mltlayered appearance. Users of papye sometimes ‘uengthened an repaited old papi by pasting on nets layer of ordinary papyras. This might vary from a saa repair patch toa backing sheet the size of normal papyrat sheet. Sheet joins (sce pp. 236-7), can ocasionaly be ab> ‘normally wide, especial if they are the amateur work of ter, rather than made by the manufactues. Although ‘artonnage (se p. 243) soften readily identifiable, fag ‘mens erated from eartonnage and composed of wo ot ‘more layers of papyrus sil adhering together can give the Impression of exremely hick papyr. "A feature thats quit noticeable isthe great thickness of certain papyi ofthe Late Period or GreczRoman period “There are certainly only tw layers but the stip themselves rusthave been lice very thik es widly accepted that ‘the Grek ste of reed pen (hich in the Prlemai period ‘quickly ousted the traditional Egyptian rash pen ~ even, ‘Setlly, for the meting of Demet ae kly to pune {ure the thinnest qualities of papyrus, and that his led tos (geral increase inthe thickness of papyrus, However this ‘Gazaceistic has also been noted in papi fom 2 rather ‘tier prio, For example, the funerary pays of Pashel+ pee 93. Views of ech end of the Greed Papas (846 hss the Pope Nancishen Third remade Pel) rmutwebkhet and Dimutiudu (BM EA1og88 and BM £47496; Quitke 1993 57,3), bth from Thebes nd dated 19¢.9§0 BC, ae nota tick in thie way. ‘Apu from the method of forming the layers, the most contentious aspect ofPiny’s account of papyrus manuf: ture this reference tothe practic of mostening the sets With Nile water prio to pressing, i order t0 cause the Layers to adhere together. Pliny mnferrd that Nie water Contained an adhesive. In ancient practice, it may have been usual ithe papyrus became dehydrated during the futting and laying down ofthe sips 2 right angles, to remoisten the sheet before pressing, Nile water might nat. wally be used for this, as Workshops were likely to have ‘ben located ner the plantations, Experiments in recent years have show tha the layers must be prested while sil ‘hoist. Pliny pethape misunderstood what he saw, or what the was told. Now, the adhesive qualities of Nile water are Aiscounted, and the reasons forthe adhesion or bonding of ‘he wo layers are more fll understood, Papyrus does contain natural gums in ts cellsap (sce p. 234) Whether this is the peacpal cause of adhesion in papyrus isneverthcies open to question, and this issue has been much dtcutted. Recent experiments have al found that pressing the layers together was enough to ensure sahesion (Leach 1975: 8; Owen and Danzing 1993: 37; De Bignicourt and Fleder 1996: 489). Ragab (39800, of 18: 151-60) proposed that physical bonding the main ‘reason forthe lamination of the horizontal end vertical layers. The theory may be bel outline, "The pls of the pepyu alee sade up of ground tksue and ives. The round tissue consitsofthrenarmed parenchyma celle with air paces between them, When the ‘wo ayers are pressed together during manufacture, the ae is expelled, and the parenchyma cells ae forced together, cccupying the previous ar spaces. They interlock in what Ragab describes 262 doetal effec. The ground tissue of the two ljers Is now efeively bonded together, with ‘much redaced balk duet the expulsion ofthe sir. Rage states tha upon drying, the blk is reduced even further ‘This shrzkage causes the dovetail bond to eet and dry in & ‘permanent locked position. The process could therefore ‘Deseentohave considerable simian to that of traditional pupersmaling (hat is the manufacture of paper fom ‘lp. Rogab measured the thickness af the papyrus stipe ingamples of papyrus of his own manufacture, before and after presing, and also afer dying. The sie afer press: ing were duced by 75 per cent of their orignal thickness, with a fither lose of 5 percent on drying. The fibres ‘emain embedded in the ground tssve throughout the ‘manulacuring process and form the network around which it ond Euamisatin ofthe ell structure carried out by Roland and Mosinik 987) resulted in simile vew of the cap bility ofthe ground tsrue cells to bond mechanical and also physirchemicaly. They sated that the microibls ‘which make up the cell walls are arranged in s series of spirals, which enables 2 highly ffecive bond tobe made as the microibals interlock together under pressure, They Sarthe fond the cell walls tobe coated with plysacchar ‘des, with chemical groups able to form hyévogen bonds wih other cell wal. If this ic the caso, i follows thatthe beating and/or pressing ofthe papyrus layers isa crucial prt ofthe mans ‘xering process Again, we know very litle about ancient practice, Pliny say they ae ‘pressed in presses and then “ried in the sun’ (Lewis 1974: 37). Moder-day exper ments hay involved beating the bwo layers together with mallet, or using a roller fr the purpose, of pressing by Weights orother means, followed by drying, with or witout pressure. IFPin'sacountis tobe believed the ancient, of ‘least the dasscl, practice was to diy without presse, having preted the stip together fist. One of the authors dnas ade sheets by beating the aersogether and allowing them to dry inthe air. Te ar-arying was successful that the layers proved to have adhered well and no subsequent disorion secured during drying. Recent experiments at the Brockim Museum by Owen and Danzing (1993), how cere, found tht aldeying lone, or just ight presting, was ‘ot sufficient to ensue a good bond. and heavy pressing was crucial In 2 itseems, whether the sheets are beaten, rolled or heavily pressed, if this sage is accomplished efficent, the papyrus can be airdred. Once enough pressure hasbeen applied to ensure the bond between the two layers, the papyrus can be dred in o ou of press In ‘procedure ths may have resembled the way in wich 3 Uditionlbookbinde today wl np’ book in the pest 0 ‘ensure a pod bond when, for example, pasting down the ‘end papers One frm application of pressure or twist of the ‘ress wil sal the bond and ti then et to dry out under 2 ” Jess presure In view of the enreme thinness and fine texture of some papyrus produced in ancient Egypt, ii dificult imagine how ths could have been achieved by ioc beating with a mall The experience of one of the suthors is that the Rbres distorted a litle and gaps and holes resulted where the papyrus had been besten too Dbeavly ewas dificult to achieve an even pressure over the see, although tis has been accomplished very sucess: fallin he case of much ancient papyrs. Owen and Danz- ing experienced the same difficulties, and found rolling = ‘eteralteratve However, the problems could perhaps be enplained, in both ass, by alackof acquired sk. tisalso {tue that many exantpapyr are not of good quality and show the gaps and hole of inferior manufacture, There i zo evidence fom Pharaonic Egypt for any kindof press, in the sense of 2 permanent mechanism designed to bring ‘vo at surtaces together and maintain pressure beeen them (for the means employed to ‘pres’ grapes, for example, see Chapter 23, this volume). Soch an apparatus for papyrus could have employed the very simplest technol ogy, and it i conceivable that large workshope (they cased) were equipped with devies that were not avaiable to smaller concemis However, t must main a possiblity that even the finest quality papyrus that survives was pro dled by skifl beating with malls “Adhesion by physical nd chemical bonding requires no extraneous adhesive. Papyrus contains natural gums in its cell sp, which were analysed by Hepper and Reynolds (a967) atthe Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. They found ‘tte contain galactose and arabinose and a trace of thar rose. These ae simple sugars which occur in many veg- ‘able gumms and seaweeds, and are the main constituents ‘of several natural adhesives such as gum arabic and ta: ‘gacanth They concluded that this must be the cause ofthe Joining together ofthe two layers. Ragab (i980u: 114-5) isputed thatthe sap payed any important part inthe ladheson. He conducted varios tests, including one in ‘which he removed the sap fiom papyrus stip by eolling ‘them, then smeared them with the orginal exp, and placed them in a press to dry. They didnot adhere. In it the modern Ragub method, which sucessfully produces papyrus sheets in gret quant, inveves soaking and rll- Ing the sip out of the stipe completely, to remove all soluble carbobydrates. They ae then once more soaked swith water, to ease the air dicts to swell again. The two layers are then formed, and pressed “This must sve weight to te theory tha physical bonding ithe main ‘ute of adheslon. More experimentation would be necess ‘ryto come toa fam conclusion about how large part the natural gums playin the adhesion ofthe twolyers, but as yet no one making papyrus has needed to use extraneous Sibesive, ‘A further question arises, however, becuse micro scopic eamination has found starch adhesive between the layers of ancient papyrus samples (areandon et 1975: \Weidemann and Bayer 1983), indicating tht the Bg tans could at least om occasion, use exes pate ok pa ther manufacturing process. Whether of not this necessuy is another question. Weidemann and Bayer presly sate that starch adhesive was found between Ihrizontal and vertical ayers, as opposed to starch g 4 quantly of which might be expected to be preva plant miteral Baran eal 975. 9) bse a basive whic they state was probably past, onthe surface fone layer ony De Bigaicourt and Fleder sarch derived from within the plant, and therefore peared is starch grans, or wat added as paste, ‘would result its being present as amorphous starch ip the caseofthe ancient samples, this was not ward question, as starch grains break down over particully because ofthe longterm efits of temper fore and humidity, and this are dificult to distinguih fom amorphous such. However, they conchided tha there was no starch adhesive present except on sample hich were either sheet ins of cartonnage ts duo to be noted that, during modern conserva processes which involve the trestment of papyrus in wate the vertial and horizontal layers do not delaminste, ba emai Ely fused together. The adhesives that have eet “dete in the cll ap ae water-soluble, and so alo is starch paste the layers were caused to adhere by no the. ‘means tha by one or both of these adhesives, some de lamination would be expected. However, this does nat ap pen, In addition, it wellknown thatthe older, harsh ‘echniques for eatrating papyrus rom cartonnage, which Included the use of acid (seep. 245) especially tended to ‘use the pasted sheetjoins fo come apart, but di rot fect the papyrus ayers themaeves, “Two final ierues to be discseed here concerning the smantifacre of sheets are (3) the optimum time for the harvesting ofthe plant, and (2) dhe optimum past of tt use, We have some information from the Greco-Romas period, clined by Lewis (1974: 105-4) a to when plan Hons were leased out, and about certain condions which ‘were lnddown tocontothe harverting The plan could be harvested throughout the year, and study ofthe documents Jed Lewis to deduce that the Yield increased fom March tnvards June to August being the most productive ime of year This snight be explained by the fact thatthe Nile Foodwatrs were highest from Seprmber to March. By June, ater levels would have subsided wuicenl to ge acess tothe pant without the se of boats, and harvesting ‘would teefore have bocome more efcent and produc tive: Lewis, however, stents that the evidence indicates that hanesting did continue throughout the yar, een ‘the snuniation reason, Lewisalio states that in the Clanical period the practice ‘was to bundle the stalk into unite of one armful or six tn fic, we have very few examples of represen idence from Pharaonic Egypt, but one soene in fom the exy New-Kingdom tomb of Puyeara fuces (TT 39: Daves 19221 pl. laa shows pap ing harvested. For what ulmate use the popyrus is bere isnot indicated in the seen, However, @ Erk is shown being pulled up by 2 man who Is ‘papyrus Boat and wo appears to fg togeter a bundle or loud of stalks, from which the eres seem t have been removed, Another caries Tis back 2 loa, shown with its Rowerheads intact, parte lst fgue inthe sene, who ls peeling with his fers 2 sti, evhaps ofthe outer vind, from a single He doesnot appear tohave ct the stalk into manage- eng, buts peeling the en length of Stephen (pers. comm. 1996) has suggested that he may be preparing 2 sip for use in tying together & of stalks. “Armuch eter scene from the Fith-Dynasty mastaba of af Saqgara (Wid 1953: pls. 76, 110) shows workmen fied bundles hosted onto thelr Backs, sa ‘in the tomb of Puyemra: one man has fallen under weight of his load, and is being helped to his fet The immediately below depicts the ashing together of stalks tomanufactare boats. Itiethus posible that Tunes depiced above were specifically intended for Tnilding. However, further registers Below depict ey of marsh scenes, and the top two registers need not ze linked in subject matter “Two scenes of papyrus-gathering survive in Middle Aogdom tombs t Meir (Blackman 1935814 pl. 3-20, 5,326, 93; of r9sb: 12; pl. 4). Tt has offen been Suggested thatthe former ofthese two scene (se ig 9.4) represents the gathering of papyrus for boatbuilding butt aight be noted thatthe humps of papyrus areshown bing tari away from the papyrus boat under constuction. However, it all these tom scenes (and in the others ‘inown), there are no grounds for supposing that he papy sien hares te mance of wring spaced mor widely part towards the bottom fe stent {tke that sor hs enon that tas bon recommen de that this pact be used fer payros manufctre (Leas 1962 39; Ragab sof: 16; De igncour snd Mheder 1996: 489), where the rato of Snes (novascuar brndles to groundisue parenchyma) isthe optima fox making fine ppyrn. Experiments in moder tes ‘iggst tht is dentable to ane the sas area or apras manufictie They shotld be nether too old nar {eo young. In young plant cell, the cell walls consis of praccaly pure cellos, but a the stalk grows oder Scores permeated with moeligneas or wont materi (Thatcher roar 79), ad ie also more ky to have ben Senor bse. For most medernndidsals experiment. ing wth papyns making there ta bos erie choice, td hey have had to ake do with whatever asthe cat Procure. The paps ma by one ofthe authors Several srs go war made voth sally fom a greenhouse sm England Although set of papyrus cenit in which the layers herd wel it was very brown in clout. Aso, the pith had dy fos sbout t winch ed to he sspicion that {he alls had ben athe od in the absence of any ancient references, i is worth ‘quoting the advice of Dr Regab wo is able to pick and ‘hoo his plans on age planation, ‘Though papyrus isa perenial plant yeing one har ese a yout (hey Harvest in summer), yt there iso ‘defn age forthe stalk best used for sheet making a2 ‘his depends on many factors, amongst which, degree of richness of soll amount of water level covering the ‘thizomes and lower coriaceous acuminate sheath, den ‘ofthe amount of alin one chimp, the density of humps in the fel the degree of nears of chimps to Thedges, dikes, et te From practical experience we cn ‘owt udge from the appearance ofthe stalk whether is suitable or not to ils good quality sheets ‘The main characterises of good qually tlk are the 1 the sia shoud be rect nt oping or Suid ney umn ceranctne tts lengt ie, the normal tapering ofthe Sai Should not Bevery pronounced ae he strips of uniform width instead ofthe normaly taper Ing form of the ordinary tem Sil The stem should have no Dales, bends or sratches, since 8 brown colour ie certain to happen in the siected area. liv abow all the skin shouldbe tender and have a wax ‘white colour oft lowest part when the acuminate Sheath are srpped ot. (HLRagab, per. comm. 1675 ef Lewis 198g: 20) Obviously, the higher up the stem the more lous the pith wil become. Phiny mentions that "the choice quality Comes from the centre, and thence in order of slicing (ews 1974375 of Mayo 1909: 442-3; Rackham 1968: 142-3). The meaning ofthis passage bas ben much de- bated, but eo judge fiom his precise wording, he may possibly mean the innermost petion or heart ofthe pth, ‘athe than the middle section fom the length ofthe ster, ‘Thus he seems to have belived thatthe strips peeled rom nearest the outer sind would be tougher than the material in the eanve. However, Ragab sats that, once the outer rind has been peeled avay, the pith has a homogeneous Structure, and that distance ffom the centre ofthe stem rakes no difference; either the stalk is good ori s not (Ragab 298b: 119). In their experiments using plans from the Natural His tory Museum in Paris, De Bignicourt and Feder (1996) found thatthe colour ofthe inal sheet depended upon ts thickness, and upon the speed of drying. When papyrus pith is exposed to air it darkens. Ths i because, i the Dresence of axygen, enzymes contained in the plant Gtalyse a series of chemical changes in the phenls, also present in the plant, ulimately. producing. quinones, {Quinones have the characteristic of being coloured. When the papyrus is dy this action and the resulting discalora- Sion stop. Consequently it was found that, the fner the sheet, the quicker it dried and the lighter the colour. Before leaving dhe question of papyrus manufacare, it should be noted that work on this subject has ben taking place for many years in Sicily by Dr Corrado Basle founder ‘ofthe international Institute of Papyrus at Syracuse Basle 1972: ¢f Bale 1977; Basile and Di Natale 1996). The plant 4nd its manufacture into a writing ground bas a long Ista onthe island, anda museum devoted to the subject ‘is located at Syracuse Basle and Di Natale 1994). Tack- Iholm and Drarconcuded thet the plant was introduced by the Azabs during thee domination ofthe island inthe tenth century AD (1950: 13). However, Basle and Di Natale ‘report that many authors writing i the eighteenth century AAD believed that twas introduced into Silly during the third century BC, their concusions based upon archae logical evidence of communication between Egypt and Stely a this time (2994: 7). Today, the plan grows along the River Cini at Syracuse, giving the Papyrus Insite Sesh materia for use in leo esblish certain aspects of manufacture, particularly the treatment ofthe freshly cut papyrus stuips before they are laid down in vertical a Forizortal layers Recent chemical analysis oF ancient sian papyrs samples, organised by the Papyrus inst Sly ind presen unpublished, promises to yield my {teresting data on teze questions Manuficture of papyrus rolls Once papyrus sheets had been made, they were joing topetherto form rolls. There sno evidence owuggest at papyrus was evr supplid in the frm of separate sheen From the late Old Kingdom onwards, the hierogipias Scrip employed arliedup papyrus roi wit md sells, the ‘determinative’ (Le. sign indicating the general nay ‘ofa word for words connected with writing Later, aio. ‘ph representing slop of fibres or string served mad. the same purpose, and was widely used in the hie script itis genealy thought to represent the fre pss from the ouside ofa papyrus rl or a separate sting ty ‘secure tbe roll. Substantial pap! seer normaly to fare been kept in the form of rlled-up roll, and not to hay ‘been stored in any folded for. However rls may sme: times fave loosened or have become pally unl ia storage, o that prt of damaged rolls may appear to have ‘ben lded (se Tait 991220) Letters or short documents appear regularly to have been kept as small packet, prix duced bya combination ofroling and flding equerty ‘hey appear wo have been deliberately fattened. The item of the orginal flds is often conspicuous in surviving examples. Users who required a small pice of papyra ppear to have cu it from + roll, either before or fer ‘wring ther text ~ and pices of papyrus could also be {alvagel from discarded documents, Apart from Pliny's atemnent that there ate ‘never more than twenty sheets 04 roll (Rackham 1968: 44-5 of Mayhot? 1909: 4) there is some evidence from Pharaoni Egypt to suggest at ‘twenty sheets could form a standard length of rll (Bot chard 88g: 120; Cemn 19529; of. Skea 1982), Rolls were manufactured when the sets were dy ‘overlapping one sheet over the next by proximately one two cximetres, and using an adhesive to jon them to iether. Again, wehavePinysaccountof how tis was done {Lewis pq: 40-1 of Mayol 90: 445, Rackham 1968 18-9) Hestates that paste was used, made from the finest fou, and allowed to stand fora day (Seder 1976), and also that carpenter's glue (probably an animal gue) and gum (probaby a vegetable gum, such a6 gum arabic) wee to0 brite forthe task, This makes sound sense as anyone who ba wored with paper related materials rin the booking {ng trade could confirm. In their recent analyses of ancien SDyH De Bignicourtand Fleder (1995: 490) have identi ‘tetarch paste on saples at shee ois, Pin then goes to say at when the ons had been pasted down they We ‘attend with mallet and lightly washed with pst, and the reiting wrinkles were again removed and smoothed vit the mallet (Lewis 1074: 42). The phrase “washed ose it lide puzzling A practical interpretation be oflered-the paste wasapplied tone sheet along the to beorelappe, and the sheet be tached was aid the pasted edge and beaten down, Nextt achieve join, partclaly along the overlapping ridge xa ewes applied slong it before beating down again. How "t'wat doze, this task would have tbe caried out inorder tobeat the four layers of papyrus stip that “eottte the overlapping area ofthe jin toa thickness at Inst comparable with tat ofthe zest of the rol and to “osu palticularsmocthnest at the overlapping ee, with. fur easing holes or weakening the under rlage ce Fig 95). ltis noticeable on numerous exantfagmentary rove tat this partic are every vulnerable, and fac fares have ofenoccurzed along this edge ts ben plated ou several times in recent years that some pap ofthe Late Period or Greco-Roman peed Gisplaya refinement in manufacture, presumably designed foprovdea smoother finish atthe sheet joins. Fst in 1978 urmerreprted that John Rea had observed that a then npublished Orychynchus papyrus ofthe fourth centr, ‘ADhad only three ayers of papyrus for uch ofthe width of the sheet join for 2m of jon 2.75 cm wide). neff it seared likely that a single vertical strip of papyrus had siberately Been omited at one edge ofthe sheet (Tarmer 4o78: 20). The papyrus was subsequently published as POrylisGzq: see the remarks by Rea (1984: 61) Coes deserted sma feature in three Rendel Haris papyt [Parr 212,214 216) ofthe fourth century A, stating that “atleast jem of vertical bres ae missing (Andon ta 498 especially p. 15) Coles stat tat he and Rea had meta sethis as standard feature of ppyr othe period. ‘They have found many examples subsequerty, and Coles sould suggest that sppearances hin that tis more likely that vera sip was omitted in manufacture than that one wa torn away subsequently (RA. Coles, pers. comm gue 95 The Papas of Nel (BM EAs88/, Lae Pr): ‘eo oe when eon hgh rosie ig, The ‘teins ft ogo hn howe ek eral ip 1996), One of the autora ndpendentiy noted 3 ‘igh ete een No ange pppoe fast recreate React esetshasbeen atten ade nacho ge efhorsetl tps Ste ed dg potting eye tect Yer tp’ (Tat 9867, with 3a ree Tetsotecaton). ithe Saqqra campeon eter {Uldiferrcettm thelr ptenomenon undamoag he Cngtpncsnerl a e of popen peed rol tt cot of ol tse bye Is ach Saeowe,Sbseqcy Mens 99) fs independently ‘Secr +smir fture in ppp in he laren ‘Rito stig ge OF itpen. One te Stow har enmined came in he Ssh nes Coleton and sisi mente ap fn Homer tou dea cmiaten wich wl “Een pr lng te fnand weld terse ‘eure ietooble pete sotto wh ‘ne ep fom the panic eid athe eis ascii eponally wide she, day Weiiate nthe ight ae Ts 2 Pie yet document om ‘hush tases) wishes of 6 cn snd Gsm. The welinor mas Senin I mang Se katt ppt hese Msc Egan Are logy, Unter Calle London an, LV Ue 955) inci cena wide thc meaning 9 08 495 i (Git 198.13) Robie epost ie StcdceatryAD, he ppp tls teds podem ‘heap Had coe mst have ech anced wih cheacdaaly wie hea and be suey te ce tht ey wie set ight hve bon for he ‘tunacureof cdr hs pied Go 61-70). ‘nc te pp chs we pred ogeter rm ro he stl wa ly wing cording tiny “eoghepos aerated ot vitor Qos Tope ae Mayht igos 4s Ratan 968: 46) ‘Wome, Pin hen ges ob sy that sales he Sues ser aes torte’ eye and Reais {opine scat ppyon mating wage asa ‘Galaga te und mihng tetany tole he fe abe oct er ett 1 lak Hower i has been cd on ay fey Poy th thd eof the ral sonra BP rai Indo wen handling deaced apes foc ore ren, bear no ei abe ‘ected by noting the meter ade On he tbe ban, inthe ete of docrents pal witen on tok sides Shia te Lae Ramen Ltt the pp shew ‘Eeute etree bawoen ti we tthe Te to wort wih Press Reman ppl ar ned ingest nth tener ofa Tit spcaton of clr ale = rscre (iso sgt speracoingl pn ews ig 67-2) tc Steen sggeed by ster poole io at ep at HOCET LEACH AND JOHN -ar does havea atu sheen on is suc. and some Dec {n prea pcr have» yellow pina How tre here no cere fay sane snd on clo inspection thi canoffen be ten oe urce dittora natural gaininers. One ofthe ators has ex joed four ppp tinder the stenosope micesope (90) 4 modern camp made by Raga in 974 an uses Book the Dead fom the eulyEghcenth Dyrasty (BM Edi0477/. 1450 00) the Lae Peto Lamentation as and Nephi (BM EAtoB8/,c.500 BC), and a Denote tea (BM EAioyro/a, © 550 8 To the naked eye the sues fl four appear ave ferent sperance. ‘The Raga ample was cream soda! mathe Bock ofthe Dead darer wih gt shen andthe se Peed and Demoticeraples ada elow tobrown, ight chiog ff. The yelomness of te Dec ecmle wo ea us iad pains on the ssa, parculy dong the ins, and it wes fel oki in was due oes stasis pasting ofthe jo, o to iso ven oe light paste mash mendoned ty Play (Lows Toya 4) Otherwise here, under he micresspe th oes ‘were all comparable and he shen appre tobe ihe ‘ery strc of te materi dang foe ots are the sp. Een though ins or pete Ragab washes out the excess sath and guns om Bs apm, the plat sil eas much psoous metro {hs imparting the carrer se Theo autor ‘as obneeds dstncte ylow patie on one sue ‘many Roman period pay fon Teta: woud have ‘een the eigial ine uc othe all bt wn ues quent the ouside sure when the al wes ews ce ‘Taito77 3), This wfc often shows cmidenle see fading in use but te eves posible tat he ‘asic overall yelow shades det the naturel ageing os layer of paste on he src. Media used on papyrus The Egyptians regulnly used ack ink for pen-writen ‘material. Red ink was frely used alongside Black in many Kins oft fr camp inguthhdng (ny 1952: a4). Many papyn, chiefly religious (or ample, funerary Book ofthe Dea), are ustrated and the colours used for this may range fom simply black lone fo a wide variety of colours. The pigments used for these purposes ae covered in Chapter ofthis volume, and itis necesary hereto mention only features ofthe substances used that are relevant othe study of papyrus ‘Theblackink employed duringte Pharaonic period has to date almost invariably been found to be carbon black (Licas 1962: 339-40: Green 1995 90). Carbon ine made by partally buming organic materials (for example ol oF wood: therefore the prot obtsined ae rsrely pase cars bon, butal contain mineral imputes and hydrocarbons “The carbon derived from its mixed with a binder, most probably a gum sch gum able (Las 96:6; and Leach 19934), to make a solid ake or ano ‘This ini very sable, as anyone who has weed Pepyrinthe many election around te wodd ac eg Wis not cea when metalic ink comms irongal ink, was fest use, but Reed ty) sym commen bye cet ct Itong inks made by mixing ok gl (ent Inte a) thn ae ee srenvitil or coppers to produces wrt fie tallotannste that on exporue to ir produce a ec ‘ur though exidaton, and biomes fre gall {Getens snd Stout 966.123) Sone interesting analyse hat been undertaken gu recent to ascerain the ype oftnk used on Deme Grek tents dating fom 332-98 BC in the cllcton ce Lourte (Delage eal 990). The PIXE Proton inca Xay Emission) method of sale wa employed theadvantageofbeinganon destracive rete Rie the methods ot semsve w aon, carbon ink could dedaced by is ack of metic elements compared cog gallink The results ofthe analysis were surpetngin at ‘ar found that all the Demotc tents were writen Catbon ink and tht ll the Grek tex apr fn vere writen with metalic One Grek war ata ccsly a8 252 BC. This is therefore the carne sale ccatpl ofthis yp of akon papyrus in Ep Iwata Jntersting thatthe we of mea ink was diel sae iad wit the writing implement, ie seed pon fae Greek tts, whe the demo tes were es writen cath ink with a rush pen of tadonal Egypean pe ‘omen resembling a bri (ce Tit 1985, Aso Be Content of thee metalic Inks a Highty whexpece ‘ince many diesen mete een wee foun, 5a scien alt ee wip Components (Ménel 1990: pq). One sg finding was that unlike the more modern trorgal ak which shows a subaal presence of ron and ph tbeseinksmpleshadmasiedick feuphur, hough was epeted tbe found inthe sme proportion ont copper. There was also a predominance of coper 2 Posed oon This in turned to speculation on te et of nk manufacture, an the effects of aging suggesting tha peraps carbonates insted of sales ere se ‘manufacture It has also been proposed that the slp ‘may hae been incorporated it ao igi comp hich could have disappeeed one tine. rol nk ‘ith ge a character brownish appearance ane ea ‘bon in, which appears much laces “he analysis refered to ahve found that consis daw from dose absent wih te naked eye We Dome out by scintife nasi" One ofthe autor at noticed examples of metlicloking inks on Masichean ‘pi fom the Chester Beaty Calton, dated rom tht dor fourth centres AD, and also on BM EAop 38 dating othe pero fom the is century BC to {het century AD, in he Drtch Musson kero Hower, chemkal aaa would be need stain Me source of the ‘ted ink found on Egyptian papyri wih are exceptions, hams. Harmatle ore hen GeO, dacasedn hayes snd eh ealing withthe rock andthe pigment respectively A soot peiecafeeieaaret ie Fe mreacenaea a ee Sopa eae ei ceasraes See Selina BSaeeeoiceae ee Besottescr ae see: Seon aetna mircimrsaran ooeoy mabe carom ia coerce arenes meceoiiercercra men Sree icant Science wages errr eee salem mennae ae fs Gr aoe ee meio reeemm sre pacnsemeame Deterioration of papyrus Papyrus will deteriorate like any other organic mate Despite this ithas shown remarkable power of dub Apart from the purty ofthe material this has undoubtedly been aided by the dry imate of Egypt. Finds outside the ‘moder county of Eaypt ate rare, athough wellknown, dacoveries have been made at Daren, Duss Europes, Herculaneum, Nestana(Anjs Hats, Palestine) and Pets A survey ofthese finds, with bibligrapy, i given by Rupprecht (1994: 7-10 for Peta, see for ample Konne, 41996), Detesioration will ocur ttough ageing, and the wa of constituents in the material tact. pysial sectatck and mould al these fectors fe lose: |y associated with the conditions in which the pep have Sin for many years before discovery, andthe subsequent ‘teatment they have recived. Mot forms of deteiontion ‘nd mould growth ake place inthe presence of oan, ‘often with contamination from other organic matter aoe, Papyrus finds fall very broadly ino two categories hose Papvaus 239 lncuded in tomb assemblages and those excavate from sxchaeolopcl sites. Tombs exn provide relatively dy sna Stable conditions unt discovery, whereas other excartec sites are mach less likely to-do’ so. Homewer, bess Exypts water table was relatively low unt the posent ‘entuy, and conditions are sometimes faouraie coy apyr have also been preserved in non funerary cea 4nd carbonized rolls may survive in relatively dap toon sites (cep 243) ‘Breakdown of the constituents of papyrus ‘As we have seen, papyrus is made up ofa ground-tssue ‘embeded with lores. The pith has been analysed by Grant {Wendetbo 197s: 4) and found wo be 97 percent coy. tates inthe form of ellie, hemt-celsone and lige, theremaining 2-3 per centbeing made up of proteinaceous ‘atrial Further analysis by Weldemann and Bayer (983) ofthe cellulose and lignin content of four ancient sarge, found the cellulose content ranging fiom 3y39" Gs-04 nt ‘en and lignin conten from 2242-5277 percent Recor, ly manufactured samples from Egypt cad Sly showed ‘comparable results, but the Egyptian papyrus sample had 68.96 per cet cellulose content, in contast to 332 pet zat inthe modem Siciian papyrus, Examinatos of tne Aistibtion ofthese constituent showed thatthe waculr bundles were predominant liga and the surounding ‘material predominent cellos. Cellulose is inherently very sabe, but it can also break ‘materials canbe present, due tothe substances used during per manufacture, eg papermaker’s lum, which pee Aluces hydrogen ions in the presence of water, Papytus, being made up of a lange proportion of cellulose, wal be subject to Breakdown, pariculanly i kept in poor sorape conditions, or in contact with acid producing mates (Mhomson 1986: 143-4: 154-6), ‘The presence of ignin ha long been established as one of the factors in the deterioration and discolouration of moody paper (Greathouse and Wessel 1934: 350), par ticularly when exposed to heat and ight. Lignin i a con Plex aromatic polymeric substance soluble in strong allie ‘snd converted to solble form by bleaching agents such ag ‘hlorine. cep fer mechanically produced woodpulp o. ets tis removed atleast patil fem the paper pulpit ‘he papermaking process using various chemical ethos to break it down and wach stout The lignin content af ‘ewsprint is 0-30 er cent and tht of chemical tested woodpulp paper commonly 0-5-2 per cent, while good _gualiy paper, made of rag orcotan, contains o pet coat Strangely, papyrus contains a proportion ofignin to cella, lose similar to that of newsprint, but, unlike newsprint docs not darken when exposed to ight, Du lightens da ‘matically, Reflecanee measurements with Perkin Emer 55:5 Uteavaietnible (UV-Vis) specrephotometer ten ‘etre and afte ight ageing (vent ight days in Mico seallightfastnss teste) of sip of papyrus showed act percent increase in reflectance (lightening) at Sam {Green and Leach 9951) However, papi cam diaclour or darken with ae. eteancemesnurements taken bere aed ater Hest ageing (twenty eight dips at 70°C) showed a 3.6 percent decease in relecance (darkening) at 436mm. Weide ‘ann and Bayer came to the concision tat the darken. ing of papyrus is due to the higher polymerisation of he lignin conten, as lignin isa less sable component thn celuose Micro-organisms Bing an organic materi opr i sceptics ‘olpal degradation, Close, ign andthe eugasn {hecel a of papyrus can be sed by microorganism {gow In heel sy, Kowal and Sadun 97) 3° {hesitate of Indus Organic Chemis a Paland dd fxtensve work onthe sty of micofrs that grow co Pept using ancient samples em vrs seus n {aA very wide ange foul and ng were ord on the tea. They cncded tht cern fang ce Spec for ups and losses of Eeypian cc CBndiens. Many factors have an infaene on fun fpowih: moisture empersire, acy or alaliny ofthe {eater ors envtontent acd the presence ef auien, ieerlrogen compounds fom the tater elf or fom ‘envzonment™ usualy inthe eof pyres, fom he soi The research eared out by Kowal ad Sodus food at cenainmkcroonganims could gow wii 2 ‘ide pH (esi range" pH 4-i.c0 for thse (rowing inthe preence of antmotiun late and por Bhat The temperatures equed for gowh were, how {er relly igh 24-6°C eng sll foray, fel powh & eveely denracive pps {composes However, tee eto indies tc post ‘ite fp. row ner prepared conto. A ‘hough many microrgmisms were mt om the spores wil alvay be present on eveything in he Ertl wold ii de actal growth of fungus that Presents rolem, snd good ervronmentacondtes tel not encourage growth. Aso ad comment on the Fools was made by Nilsen (985 90) that he samples {Sed forthe ents had been in acum nage for apo sl thiny yer therefore ts cleat whether con tna was du othe nature ofthe cxcaation si ot anik and Sacheberger (8) state that he high at conten of Egypt sl ee. 242) bara present fon pep: he sal bib macelogial row “They sate that, where sodium chloride is present in ‘concentration of ve 6 pe cent. very few microo ‘an sure. However, although the altaline solo Ey ‘may well havea preservative effec gaint mice bilan

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