How To Make Papyrus Paper

A wonderful demonstration on the making of papyrus paper. Papyrus is a strong, durable paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, and is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt as far back as the First Dynasty. Cyperus papyrus is a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta.

Ancient Egyptians used the plant as a writing material and for boats, mattresses, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets. Papyrus is still used by communities living in the vicinity of swamps, particularly in East and Central Africa, people harvest papyrus which is used to manufacture, baskets, hats, fish traps, trays or winnowing mats and floor mats. Papyrus is also used to make roofs, ceilings, rope and fences.

Recently archaeologists have discovered what is thought to be the most ancient harbor ever found in Egypt, along with the country's oldest collection of papyrus documents.

The harbor goes back 4,500 years, to the days of the Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) in the Fourth Dynasty, the Egypt State Information Service reported on Friday. The Great Pyramid of Giza serves as the tomb of Khufu, who died around 2566 B.C.

The harbor was built on the Red Sea shore in the Wadi al-Jarf area, 112 miles (180 kilometers) south of Suez. The find was made by a French-Egyptian mission from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies, according to Friday's dispatch. Discovery News quoted the mission's director, Pierre Tallet of the University of Paris-Sorbonne, as saying that the site "predates by more than 1,000 years any other port structure known in the world."

The harbor is considered one of the most important commercial ports of ancient Egypt, where trips to export copper and other minerals from the Sinai Peninsula were launched. Egyptian authorities said the archaeologists found a variety of docks, as well as a collection of carved stone anchors.

The team also unearthed a collection of 40 papyri that detailed the daily lives of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of Khufu's reign, said Egypt's antiquities minister, Mohamed Ibrahim. "These are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt," he said. Among the subjects reportedly covered were the arrangements for getting bread and beer to the workers heading out from the port.

One papyrus is said to detail the daily activities of an official named Merrer, who was involved in building the Great Pyramid.

"He mainly reported about his many trips to the Turah limestone quarry to fetch block for the building of the pyramid," Tallet said. "Although we will not learn anything new about the construction of the Cheops monument, this diary provides for the first time an insight on this matter."

reporter: Ilona Kauremszky
video: Stephen Smith
music: Kevin MacLeod
reporter: Ilona Kauremszky
travel - arts - lifestyle

[sterlingstreamliner]

Thanks to mainstream media and TV cable news, our only insight into present-day Egypt is mostly negative. Watching this wonderful sequence about the making of papyrus paper was a reminder that people are the same everywhere. Proud of their culture and their country's heritage. Keeping in mind all of what the Egyptian people have been through in the recent past, watching this was a real pleasure. Uplifting. Thank you for posting this.

[utkarshtripathi]

She is very articulate, funny, well mannered, intelligent and amicable. Perfect person for the job she is doing.

[tkitty]

She is awesome! Wonderful job by her. She speaks very well and explains the history with great detail. Very easy for anybody to follow and learn. Lol. I want to watch more history tutorials by her about ancient Egypt! It's such an easy and entertaining listen! Thanks all the way from Seattle, Washington! (=

[jsec]

She is absolutely charming! Love the slight accent too ❤️

[refulgent_fanta]

You know what I find awesome about the Egyptians? Although they've been muslim for such a long time, they still care a lot about their ancient past. I had Egyptian colleagues at work and they told me that religious and cultural elements from the pharaonic period are still very much present in Egypt.

[websurfer]

This is fantastic. She covers everything quickly, concisely, and intelligently. The ancient Egyptians are basically correct about what happens in the afterlife. They know because they had initiation ceremonies where participants died and told about what they experienced if they came back to life. All of this was meticulously recorded and made into the synopsis she told as she pointed to the various parts of the picture about our journey into the afterlife. The questions asked of the initiate will be based on the 42 Ideals of Maat, Goddess of Truth, Justice, Harmony, and Balance. 🌴🧡🌴

[mirrormimi]

That was awesome! She presented it super clearly, and made it even more interesting :)!!

[HERBALNATURAL]

She is just amazing and her way of explaining is awesome. Loved the knowledge she had

[bobblehead]

Learning about Egypt in Art History and got curious about how they made their scrolls. This is awesome

[justice]

This young lady was very informative. Loved how she showed how paper was made.

[aeran]

The explanation is very useful... helped me a lot... Thanks!!!

[elidetbordon]

Thank you for sharing! My daughter and I watched this video because she is learning about the history of the alphabet and the history of paper. This was a fun addition to our history lesson.

I love the process and how it was shown hands on. The internet makes our world bigger and smaller at the same time. Thanks again!

[mycompasstv]

sterling ~ Thanks for your insightful comment. Now, after the revolution, Egypt is heading towards a new path,  yet despite the hysterics of much of the media, the destination remains perfectly safe for tourists, and the people are the same as always, kind, cultured and friendly.

Egypt's history, its temples and antiquities are simply so unimaginably awe inspiring that a visit to this country should be at the top everyone's bucket list.

[mm-rjvo]

"For beat husband if he came late home?" Best part. XD

[Conissocool]

This video was perfect for my plans to make my own papyrus paper, I never thought to do a crisscross pattern instead of the over-under method that in hindsight would look bad. She is a great teacher

[queencleo]

An incredible process into the making of papyrus paper. I wish I could witness the process in person. Thanks for your video.

[wesbecky]

We really enjoyed your video! We are a homeschooling family and picked up some papyrus at a King Tut Exhibit  and have been working on our own paper this video was a great help in educating the kids and I loved the presenter! Becky 

[wingedpegasus]

This is a fascinating insight into an ancient Egyptian art. Nothing less than captivating!

[ZenTheForce]

This is perfect! I have a papyrus plant that is getting crazy huge, I didn't know what to do with it come winter. Now I can just prune it down to an indoor size and make some neat paper to boot!

[echognomecal]

I understood much of what she's saying & she did a wonderful job. It would be fantastic to have the CC working for so many people.