What is the technology of manufacturing papyrus ?

What is the technology of manufacturing papyrus ?

At a certain stage of human development there is a need to record knowledge.At first it did on the rocks, then on clay tablets.They were replaced by more comfortable writing instruments, such as papyrus.And what is it, and how to make papyrus?

Shumel reeds ...

inventors of this "paper" were the Egyptians, that did it with the III millennium BC.e.The papyrus Greece sold already in the VII Art.BC.e., and later in Rome.

word "papyrus" is derived from the name of the plant Tsiperus Papyrus growing on the banks of the Nile.By the way, growing at some windowsills tsiperus - his cousin and a miniature replica.

Life in Ancient Egypt is difficult to imagine without papyrus.This cane (in our opinion - reeds) has been circulated everywhere.Leaves covered the roof, made mats and shoes.The plant grows to 3 m in length, the stems are strong and light, fibrous structure.Of these, the boat spun, the reliability of which in the twentieth century.team proved traveler T. Heyerdahl.

Ancient paper

How exactly the Egyptians realized that you can do from the papyrus "paper" - is not known.But what is the papyrus manufacturing technology - the information reached us through the Roman historian Pliny.Purified

stems from the outer layer was cut into thin strips.Their dense, overlapping laid on a flat surface perpendicular to the two layers, and left under pressure.Strips of stems firmly stuck together through the adhesive properties of the juice of the plant.

When the leaves dry, bumps smoothed with a hammer.Then equated edges and glued sheets into long strips (scrolls), observing the direction of the fibers.Sutures are carefully smoothed so that the junction is almost not noticeable.

most quality papyrus obtained from the stems of the core.This "paper" was solid, flexible.They wrote her sap, soot.It is believed that unwanted entries washed and re-used papyrus.

But not only did the Egyptians from the plant material for writing.China has been rice paper, in Russia birch bark (birch bark).