11/30/2022 0 Comments Papyrus paper![]() This plant has a long stem that is cut lengthwise so that the outer covering may be removed. ![]() The Cyperus papyrus plant, which resembles a reed and grows in swamp-like conditions, is necessary for the production and manufacture of papyrus material. Modern paper and books are considered the descendents of papyrus materials. The term papyrus may also refer to a type of scroll made up of sheets of papyrus that have been rolled together from either side to meet in the middle. The oldest examples of papyrus are believed to have originated between 15 BC and were discovered in Egypt along the shores of the Red Sea in 20 AD. You can imagine the issues with that method if you think about how difficult the game of “telephone” is.įind out more about making papyrus at the Getty Villa and Getty’s other family programs.Papyrus is a thick, paper-like material that dates back to the ancient Egyptian era. What is exciting though, with all the new technology being used to try to read these scrolls, is the possibility that we will find examples of all those many lost texts referenced throughout classical literature, like Socrates’s lost plays or Manetho, from whom we have our modern conception of ancient Egyptian chronology but which has only been reconstructed through excerpts of his work quoted in other texts. Many of the scrolls that have been read are philosophy texts that we are familiar with from other sources. Now, new digital techniques provide the possibility of reading the scrolls without harming them.Īccording to Price, it is exciting that we may be able to use new technology to find examples of lost texts that are referenced throughout classical literature. Yet they offer a glimpse into the thinking of the time. Only some of the blackened texts have been read. Many of the scrolls in the library survived, carbonized by the heat. Pyroclastic flow, a mixture of hot gases and ash, sealed and preserved the town of Herculaneum, including the Villa dei Papiri and its library. ![]() Vesuvius erupted, different types of volcanic material descended on the nearby towns. The Getty Villa was modeled on the Ancient Villa dei Papiri, so named because of its library filled with scrolls. Step 6: Write your philosophical text, roll it up, and seal it for the library It offers us the opportunity to learn from them and reminds us that our notion of ‘progress’ is subjective.” “Working with papyrus today is exciting because we’re reinventing a technology the ancient Egyptians were experts in. “We have a lot to learn from them,” said Price. Like today, the people who lived long ago were continually developing technologies and tools. Papyrus paper wasn’t cheap, and not everyone could read and write. Scribes wrote horizontally, as we do, in sections the size of our modern pages, rolled the scrolls up, and stored them in libraries. “There’s the account by Pliny the Elder in his Natural Histories, but it’s a rather vague account.” Additionally, he never actually went to Egypt.Īfter the papyrus paper was produced, pieces were attached to create scrolls up to 65 feet long. “I’m hesitant to suggest that no one else ever used this technology throughout the Roman Empire,” said Price. “This would suggest that when Egypt was under Roman control, the Egyptians were supplying the entire Roman empire with these goods.”Įventually, papyrus was replaced by parchment (animal skin), but the ancient process was reinvented in the 1960s for the tourist trade in Egypt. “Most scholars agree the manufacturing of papyrus was a technology belonging to the ancient Egyptians,” said Robyn Price, a PhD candidate in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, who helped facilitate the Getty workshop. Papyrus grew on the banks of the Nile, and the resulting paper was exported across ancient Egypt, all the way into ancient Rome. “This allows you to slow down and think about the evolution from nature to the thing that ancient Romans would write on.” “When you learn how labor-intensive this is, you appreciate it more,” said Hogan. ![]() She had chosen several tall stalks from the Getty Villa gardens and was now slicing them into thin flat reeds to be soaked and, ultimately, pounded and pressed into paper. She was preparing the plant for an upcoming workshop on the topic. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |