Writing Materials in the Ancient World

Abstract

Paper did not exist in the ancient Mediterranean world. Instead, people wrote on an enormous variety of other materials. While almost every substance imaginable has been used as writing material at one time or another, this article focuses on the common ones. First, it considers papyrus since the overwhelming majority of ancient texts are written on this material. It discusses parchment, ostraca, and wooden tablets which receive considerable attention. It also discusses linen (e.g., mummy bandages) and stone (mainly Coptic limestone ostraca inscribed with ink). Looking at Coptic documentary texts, which extend past the end of antiquity, ostraca are the most important medium (47.5%), while papyrus is second (40.5%). Limestone accounts for 10.5%, while skin (leather/parchment), paper, and wood represent less than 1% each.

Personalizing image enhancement for critical visual tasks: improved legibility of papyri using color processing and visual illusions

“…Cyperus papyrus L. is an aquatic plant growing on the banks of the Nile River. By slicing, assemblage, and gluing via its own sap, a fine, flexible, and smooth papyrus can be manufactured, that is suitable for writing [ 34 ]. The orthogonal fiber pattern and surface roughness were once commercial criteria in the papyrus trade; today, they offer valuable hints to historians on prices, tastes, and document origins.…”

إعادة التدوير وإدارة النفايات في مصر اليونانية الرومانية

“…Also, Bulow-Jacobsen, A. sets a genuine discussion for this passage and the unsuitable mistakes in which Pliny had fallen. 30 Illustrating these points is significant to clear the shortage in information about papyrus manufacture and production. Thus, there is no information about how the ancients recycled papyrus, except some archeological cases that were discovered in its final stage without any information about its process or how it had been recycled.…”

Leafing through time: Ink Analysis of the longest Qur’ān on Papyrus

“…The early centuries of Islam were characterised by the presence of multiple writing supports. Papyrus, used since antiquity in ancient Egypt, was adopted and used for administrative purposes by the new rulers of Egypt until paper eventually replaced it as the writing support of choice [1], [2]. Parchments were similarly used for writing content that required durability, including marriage contracts, purchase deeds and in particular, religious texts [3].…”