From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Papyrus is an early form of paper that was made from the stem of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus. It was used in scrolls in ancient civilizations. Later the practice was to cut sheets from the rolls to form codices when the codex or book was invented; papyrus use began 5000 years ago in Egypt (and probably in other places).
Several layers of papyrus leaves were laid in different directions (usually perpendicularly) and pressed together while wet. The surface that was written on (only one side of the paper was used) was treated with glue sizing so that the ink wouldn't bleed.
In a dry climate, such as Egypt, papyrus is stable, but storage in humid conditions will result in molding. The imported papyrus that was commonplace in Greece and Italy has disintegrated, but extraordinary papyri are still being found in Egypt: the Elephantine papyri, and finds at Oxyrhynchus or Nag Hammadi are famous. At Herculaneum, the Villa of the Papyri containing the library of Julius Caesar's father-in-law, was preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius, but has only been partly excavated.
Papyrus is occasionally used for artwork, but watermedia can cause the papyrus to buckle.
Papyrus is also the name of a Computer font.
