egyptbc.com

The modern word of paper is derived from the ancient Egyptian term of ‘papyrus’ which was arguably one of the most important inventions of the time.

The word papyrus means something along the lines of  ‘a thing that belongs to the house’ which experts have interpreted as meaning it was a fundamental part of the bureaucracy of ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egyptians discovered papyrus along the banks of the Nile where it is a common marsh plant. They stripped away the rind from the stem and then cut this into short pieces which were then further trimmed into narrow pieces.

This pith was then kept damp until the fibres became pliable. At this time two layers of the soaked papyrus would be laid on a flat surface, one on top of the other, at right angles. Pressure would then be applied until all the excess moisture was squeezed out.

Following this the resulting sheets were dried in the sun for several days until they were completely free of any water and were fused together. Scribes would then polish the sheets and glue several together to form scrolls.