The Analytical Approach Edited by Jeanette G. Grasselli
Papyrus
The Paper of Ancient Egypt
Papyrus Ebers (16th century B.C.) contains, in more than 100 columns, 10 000 medical recipes for treatment of all kinds of diseases 1220 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 55, NO. 12, OCTOBER 1983
about
Egypt was not only the kingdom of the pharaohs with their pyramids, temples, tombs, mummies, and a multiform world of gods, but also the land of officials, scribes, and the written word (1). The importance of the latter is evident from the texts and inscriptions on papyrus, the "paper" of ancient Egypt. These papyri contained texts referring to the public and private life in ancient Egypt; they are the written heritage of a culture that existed over thousands of years. The oldest papyrus ever found originates from the First Dynasty (3000 B.C.); the earliest inscribed papyrus is assigned to the Fifth Dynasty (2400 B.C.). At the beginning of the 20th century, scientific excavation campaigns by archeologists in middle and upper Egypt uncovered an unexpected, rich cache of papyri writings, excellently preserved due to the dry Egyptian climate and overlying desert sand. These papyri are now located in Egyptian collections in European museums, and their availability for scientific examination allows us to learn much about the age, composition, and processing of this ancient paper. To examine these materials we selected a number of different analytical techniques: thermoanalytical methods— thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermal mechanical analysis (TMA); mass spectrometry (MS); and optical and electron microscopy. These techniques required only small amounts of the original ancient samples, yet provided much useful information. Before we began our investigation, however, we had to study the papyrus plant itself. Cyprus Papyrus Papyrus was grown in various parts of the Near East and Egypt, including the delta of the Nile. The stems, which are used to make the writing material, have a triangular cross section and may reach a height of 3-6 m. Table I shows the complete elemental analysis of both ancient (1300 B.C.) and fresh (1977) papyri. The main components of the papyrus plant, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, are shown in the photomicrograph of a section of fresh papyrus 0003-2700/83/A351-1220$01.50/0 © 1983 American Chemical Society
H. G. Wiedemann Mettler Instrumente AG CH-8606 Greifensee/Zurich Switzerland
G. Bayer Institute of Crystallography and Petrography Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ΕΤΗ) 8092 Zurich Switzerland
Damaged painting in an ancient papyrus (Book of Death). The barge was originally painted with green copper stem and in the DTA curves of sam ples from different regions of the stem (Figure 1). The upper curve (a) is from a collateral bundle, which contains more "incrust" (lignin) than cellulose. The middle curve (b) corresponds to the cellulose region that surrounds the collateral bundle. Cellulose and hemicellulose predominate; and the shoul der on the lignin peak indicates the presence of both monomeric and dimeric phenols. The material of the third sample was taken from the inter mediate layer between the collateral bundle and the cellulose region. Its lower curve (c) shows more cellulose and hemicellulose than monomeric phenols of lignin. How Was Papyrus Made? Looking through the many exam ples of original literature and pictures
from ancient Egypt, one finds descrip tions of all kinds of technical pro cesses and recipes for a variety of products. However, even though papy rus was used in large quantities, the details of its original manufacturing process are missing. Since papyrus was rather expensive, perhaps the pro cess was kept secret to preserve a mo nopoly for its production and export. The only picture that gives some in formation, at least of the first steps during the fabrication of papyrus, was a mural discovered in the tomb of Puy-em-Re. It shows the harvesting of papyrus, plus the bundling and de barking of the stems. A detailed de scription of the subsequent produc tion of "papyrus paper" may be found, however, in Pliny's "Natural History" (80 A.D.) in which he also refers to pos sible manufacturing processes in an
acetate
cient Egypt (2). The following is taken from a recent English translation by H. Rackham of the fourth volume of
Table I. Elemental Analysis of Papyrus
Elements
Ancient sample ( % by weight)
Fresh papyrus ( % by weight)
Oxygen Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen Sulfur Silicon Iron Aluminum Calcium Magnesium Sodium
38.56 36.22 4.78 1.55 0.55 7.17 1.75 4.05 2.64 0.83 1.43
52.70 40.27 4.37 0.95 0.40 0.54 trace 0.009 0.14 0.07 0.43
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 55, NO. 12, OCTOBER 1983 · 1221 A
Magnification 40x
Monomeric Lignin Polymeric Lignin Hemicellulose Cellulose
Exotherm
0.5 mW
Figure 1. Photomicrograph (40x) of a section of fresh papyrus stem and different regions of the stem. DTA curves in oxidizing atmosphere of (a) collateral bundle; (b) cellulose region surrounding collateral bundle; (c) intermediate layer
Table II. Composition (Wt % ) of Ancient Papyri Determined from TG Measurements Papyrus
1900 B.C. 344 B.C. 5 B.C. 578 A.D. Sicily, 1977 A.D. Egypt, 1977 A.D.
Sample weight (me)
Water
(%>
(%)
