The Egyptian word was pa-per-ra (literally 'property of Pharaoh'), Later than the papyrus (plural papyri) 'paper' of antiquity. Strictly speaking, the term 'paper' refers to a product developed Served as a drink and its ashes used medicinally. Plants were used to make everything from sandals to ships. Name derives from the plant's name) was only one product of papyrus. 'wood' of the plant's sturdy but flexible stem. In a range of quality and thickness, paper is made from the soft interior Known to the Egyptians five thousand years ago was re-discovered. Was part of a revival in the 1960s, when the ancient papermaking process Re-introduced from natural papyrus colonies in Ethiopia and Sudan. Mediterranean regions, it was virtually extinct in Egypt and it had to be Occurs naturally in what is now Syria, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Ethiopia, and along theīy the twentieth century, papyrus was not only rare in Sicily and other (Our photograph was taken at Palermo's Botanical Gardens.)įellow members of the cyperaceae (sedge) family, particularlyĬyperus Alternifolius and Cyperus Involucratus, should notīe confused for the unmistakable Egyptian Cyperus Papyrus, which Growing up to five metres in height in shallow water up to a metre deep. Papyrus is the much taller Cyperus Papyrus associated with the Nile, The plant grows best in or near fresh water, and theĭeforestation of much of Sicily, resulting in actual rivers being replacedīy seasonal streams, probably caused its general extinction.

The Egyptians, the ancient Romans distinguished various qualities of paper Have introduced true Egyptian papyrus ( cyperus papyrus) in Sicily,Īnd records indicate it was present in Greek areas by 300 BC (BCE). Of which ran along what is now Via Venezia. In the Papireto ('Papyrus') River of Phoenician Palermo, the course Popular in Sicilian gardens, and this may have been the variety which grew Today, a 'dwarf' papyrus of the same sedge family is Paper made from papyrus was a thing of the distant past. Throughout the Middle Ages, the scribes of Norman Sicily gradually grew While parchment and vellum (made from goat or sheep skin) remained popular (They also introduced the widespread cultivation of cotton.) Papermaking from rag (cotton) and wood pulp - a technology they importedįrom China. It was probably the medieval Arabs who brought to Sicily the knowledge of In Europe, growing in the Ciane River (associated with several Greek myths) Yet, Sicily boasts the largest natural 'colony' of papyrus By that time, most paper was made from cotton and otherįibres. Is only rarely mentioned explicitly in Sicilian records until the modern (post-medieval)Įra, when it is referred to by the Sicilian word papira (Italian The plant's ancient presence in Sicily is beyond question, but papyrus The Bible mentions papyrus fairly early (Exodus is its second book and covers the period beginning around 1300 BC). Then she placed the child in it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. She got a papyrus basket for him and painted it with This site better viewed with JavaScript or Scripting Dedicated to Sicilian art, culture, history, people, places and all things

Papyrus in Sicily - Best of Sicily Magazine.

Papyrus basket with tar and pitch