Egyptian Papyrus

Egyptian Papyrus from North Africa

Like in antiquity, we still use the same papyrus plant from Egypt the cyperus papyrus. Documents have an exceptional look, when texts are written on either papyrus or parchment. In The Roman Shop you will find a variety of papyrus and parchment products that will suit your needs and taste. Each scroll of papyrus unique, decorative will give your writings your individual character.

Stationery from ancient times

Papyrus rolls of Egypt were used already in antiquity as stationery or for writing literary and religious texts. Sometimes the text rolls were illuminated. However due to the possibility of easier correcting texts on parchment and because parchment was also available in countries far off Egypt, this writing material became more widely used than papyrus.

Egyptian Papyrus, the material basis of books

It is a great experience to write on parchment, made from goat or sheep skin. Robust parchment can also be used to bind books (parchment cover). The papyrus role can be coloured with acrylic, watercolours or other colours, use felt-tip pens or ink. Papyrus rolls for documents are particularly decorative, to use as wrapping paper, bookmarks, or for painting. Let your creative imagination free rein with the variety of shapes and sizes of premium Papyrus roles of Egypt.

Papyrus from Egypt: Egyptian ancestor of paper

A papyrus roll was in antiquity the most important substance to write on and, still like today, was handmade. Papyrus was already used from the third millennium B.C. for the production writing material. The plant from which it is made, grows along the Nile. Greeks and Romans were convinced of the advantages of papyrus. Even in modern times, important documents are written either on papyrus or on parchment, due to the longevity of the material.

Papyrus Info

In small towns of the Egyptian Nile Delta papyrus is still traditionally manufactured. Many families in the country side live in the midst of the papyrus fields. They harvest papyrus almost at any time, using the long stems of the Cyprus grass and process the raw materials with great skills to papyrus sheets. In ten steps, each sheet of papyrus is carefully and individually created. The papyrus role is crafted by adding papyrus sheets together, as they have been done centuries ago.

The Roman Shop - Your papyrus and parchment specialist

More info about papyrus rolls and parchment you can find on the blog www.papyrus-blog.de

For papyrus from Egypt & parchment, see also:

www.dominikanermuseum.de – Rottweil; www.Limburgsmuseum.nl - Limburgs Museum Netherlands; www.apx.lvr.de - Archaeological Park Xanten

FAQs for papyrus - parchment:

What is Egyptian Papyrus?

Papyrus from Egypt is a Reed-like plant and grows in marshy areas of the Nile Delta).

What can you use to write on papyrus, parchment?

You can use all conventional inks and markers. In addition, you can paint the Papyrus with acrylics, watercolour, and tempera.

What can you make from papyrus?

From our genuine premium papyrus, you can create high-quality documents. Papyrus can be included into books or you can simply use papyrus as background for a frame. We have also seen calendars being produced from papyrus. And not long ago, a big printing press has used our very large papryisheets (2 x 1m!) to print large images on them. They were subsequently used in a fashion show in Paris and decorated a huge area as decorative background.

Is Papyrus handmade?

Yes, Papyrus is manufactured as in the olden times. Papyrus sheets are made by superimposing individual papyrus strips to form a larger papyrus sheet.

Writing material and their success story...

The long lasting influence papyrus had on today’s society can be seen from the name "Paper" which still points to the papyrus plant. A similarly successful story celebrates parchment. This is a writing material, consisting of prepared animal skins made and found widely in ancient Mesopotamia, as well as in classical antiquity and used by Greeks, Romans and others. Both papyrus and parchment were used as writing material either in form of a roll and from the 2^nd century A.D. onwards in codices.

The archaeological findings of papyrus fragments from late antiquity, especially in the desert sand of Egypt, have helped a lot in understanding the beginnings of our era and most particularly Jewish, Egyptian and early Christian history. We mirror this importance by the variety of rolls we offer, either blank, or printed with important texts from antiquity in original language or in translation. If you have questions about papyrus or parchment, please let us know and we try to answer these.