Papyrus
๐ In short
Papyrus is a tall water plant that grew thickly along the banks of the Nile in Egypt. It has a long three-sided stem with a tuft of thin stalks at the top like a broom or messy hair. From it the ancient Egyptians made the first paper for writing!
๐คฉ Did you know?
- Papyrus can grow more than 4 meters tall.
- The Egyptians wrote on papyrus with a reed pen and black or red ink.
- Papyrus scrolls were rolled around a stick, like a rolled-up book.
- In Egypt, artists still paint pictures on papyrus for tourists.
๐ Find out more
๐ Papyrus paper
The Egyptians cut papyrus stems into thin strips, laid them side by side, put another layer across them, then pressed and dried them in the sun, making a sheet they could write on.
๐ Where the word โpaperโ comes from
The word โpaperโ comes from the name papyrus.
๐ก Many uses
The Egyptians didn't just make paper from papyrus: they also made mats, baskets, sandals, rope and even small light boats that floated on the Nile.
๐ฏ Very old books
Museums still have papyrus scrolls thousands of years old, with stories, medical recipes and accounts written on them in hieroglyphs.
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 What did the ancient Egyptians make from papyrus?
2 Where did papyrus grow thickly?
3 Papyrus can grow more than ?? meters tall.
4 Which picture shows โPapyrusโ?
๐ณ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- pjt56 --- ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
