Papyrus

Papyrus paper

Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London

Papyrus plants at Syracuse, Sicily

Papyrus is a kind of paper that was used in Ancient Egypt for writing. It was first made in the 3rd millennium BC. It was made from a kind of reed called Cyperus papyrus.

This plant grows in marshy areas around the Nile river. The Egyptians also used the papyrus plants to make boats, mattresses, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets.

Specially cultivated papyrus, grown on plantations, was used to make the writing material. Papyrus was first used in Ancient Egypt, but it was later used elsewhere in the Mediterranean region.

Papyrus Media

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  An official letter on a papyrus of the 3rd century BCE

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  Roman portraiture fresco of a young man with a papyrus scroll, from Herculaneum, 1st century AD

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  Bill of sale for a donkey, papyrus; 19.3 by 7.2 cm, MS Gr SM2223, Houghton Library, Harvard University

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  Men splitting papyrus, Tomb of Puyemré; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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  Different ways of cutting papyrus stem and making of papyrus sheet

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  Papyrus plants near Syracuse, Sicily

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  Papyrus Flower on white background

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  The Heracles Papyrus (Oxford, Sackler Library, Oxyrhynchus Pap. 2331), a fragment of 3rd century Greek manuscript of a poem about the Labors of Heracles.

Other websites

• Media related to Papyrus at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of papyrus at Wiktionary