Skilled workers produced not only a writing medium – papyrus – from the marsh plant Cyperus papyrus but also boats, rope, baskets, and other objects. Light but strong, flexible but durable, a sheet of papyrus offered an excellent surface for the ancient Egyptians to record their accounts, stories, or religious texts and to transmit them to future generations. Egypt’s dry climate preserved many of these objects alongside other artifacts of everyday life (and death).
Sandal Made of Reed or Papyrus
Tebtunis, Roman Period (First to Fourth Century CE)
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-20461
Papyrus was not the only object on which scribes wrote. A wax-coated wood tablet or a piece of stone or pottery, known as an ostrakon, could substitute for school work or a quick note. Egyptian hieroglyphs could be carved into stone, as the authors might wish their words to be seen for millennia. The codex, a form recognizable now in the modern book, was an innovation of the Roman period. It comprised folded papyrus or parchment sheets sewn between protective covers.
Writing Tablet with Wax
Tebtunis, Roman Period (First to Fourth Century CE)
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-20402
Cursive Egyptian scripts—namely hieratic (a cursive form of hieroglyphs) and demotic (a derivation of hieroglyphs from the Graeco-Roman period)—were mostly written with a brush dipped into ink made of charcoal, an adhesive, and water. Greek scribes, however, favored a reed pen with a cut nib that suited the finer lines of their alphabetic script.
Papyrus Plant
Cyperus papyrus L.
Papyrus is a sedge that grows in shallow water in Mediterranean countries, parts of central Africa, and Madagascar. The plant can reach up to four meters tall and has a triangular shaped stalk.
Greek Papyri: The Rediscovery of the Ancient World
Dir. Mirek Dohnal, 1971
University College London
Tomb-Scenes Depicting Papyrus Processing
Watercolor paintings of the decoration on the walls of the tomb of Puyemre
Men Gathering Papyrus
Facsimile artist Hugh R. Hopgood, 1914–1916
Original tomb painting Thebes, Dynasty 18 (ca. 1479–1458 BCE)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1930, Acc. No. 30.4.11
Men Splitting Papyrus
Facsimile artist Hugh R. Hopgood, 1914–1916
Original tomb painting Thebes, Dynasty 18 (ca. 1479–1458 BCE)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1930, Acc. No. 30.4.10
“You know that I am blameless, and you went away from me for no reason without giving me money. I bought two rolls of papyrus…”
Aurelius Sarapion’s writes to his brother Polion and his father Diogenes to ask for help
Tebtunis Town, T-334, Third Century CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Tebt. II 420
State Restrictions on the Sale of Papyri
Letter from Sokonopis, overseer for the distribution of the state papyrus supply, introducing the new papyrus contractor for the village of Talei
Tebtunis, Cartonnage from Mummy 123, 27 October 159 BCE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Tebt. III 709
An Unexpected Choice
In the first century BCE, many officials could function in both Greek and demotic Egyptian. The excavations at Tebtunis yielded several archives of papyri that had been reused to wrap and stuff crocodile mummies. These documents belong to a bilingual group of a texts from an archive of a scribal office (grapheion) from the town of Theogonis near Tebtunis. Thes texts and others in the archive stand out because the scribe chose to write demotic with a reed pen. His preferred implement was normally used by writers of Greek, while Egyptian texts were usually written with a brush.
Abstract of a loan for Paesis written in demotic Egyptian with a reed pen
Tebtunis, Cartonnage from Crocodile 1, 22 March 63 BCE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Tebt. I 227
Fragmentary register of contracts written in demotic Egyptian with a reed pen
Tebtunis, Cartonnage from Crocodile 1, 68–69 BCE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Tebt. I 228
Confirmation of Priestly Qualifications
The high priest of Egypt’s positive verdict on the application for priestly office of two individuals from Tebtunis
Tebtunis Town, T-12, 161–162 CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Tebt. II 291
Writing Egyptian Language in a Greek Script
Letter from Joseph to Bishop Pesynthios of Koptos
Koptos, ca. 569–632 CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Berk. 1
Parchment fragment from a codex with portions of Ezekiel and Psalms in Coptic
Egypt, ca. Fifth to Seventh Century CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, P.Berk. 2
Coptic Alphabet: Letters that were added to the Greek alphabet are in the right column
Putting Pen to Papyrus
Egyptian scribes are often depicted on tomb walls holding a long, thin brush and a scribal palette. They sit with a roll of papyrus draped over their crossed legs. These authors, administrators, and artists kept the tools of their trade with them even in the afterlife. The ink pot and reed pen were buried with their owner in a tomb in a cemetery near Tebtunis. There are dried remnants of the charcoal-based ink that was commonly used in Egypt within the wooden container, which has a matching lid. The pen was made by cutting a nib at the end of a hollow reed. A stone palette was used to mix dried black or red ink cakes with water.
Ink Pot and Lid
Tebtunis Cemetery 8, First to Third Century CE
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-21419 a,b
Reed Pen
Tebtunis Cemetery 8, First to Third Century CE
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-21420
Schist Stone for Mixing Ink
Naga ed-Deir Tomb N 971 (= N 988), Dynasty 5 or 6 (2465–2150 BCE)
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-19072
Ostraka: Reusing Broken Objects
While papyrus was a common writing medium, there were alternatives. Broken pottery, which was readily at hand, served as a convenient surface for jotting down short notes, lists, or receipts. Ostraka were freely available to scribes wanting to draft letters or for students learning the basics of reading and writing. For these and other short-lived texts, such as prescriptions or magical spells given to patients for home consultation, ostraka were temporary objects, discarded after use. Figured ostraka are fragments, usually stone flakes or potsherds, illustrated with the sketches by ancient artisans.
Receipt for a Tax (epitriton)
Tebtunis, 6–5 BCE?
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, O.Tebt. 6
List of Names
Tebtunis, Second Century CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, O.Tebt. 9
Receipt for Two Sacks Issued to an Enslaved Person
Tebtunis, Second or Third Centuries CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, O.Tebt. 12
Figured Ostrakon
Naga ed-Deir Cemetery, 3000–300 BCE
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-15558
Writing on and Working with Wood
Figurine from a boat model
Naga ed-Deir Tomb N 9090, Dynasty 11 or 12 (2040–1783 BCE)
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 6-14951
Tomb niche with a boat model and other wooden figurines
Photographer Unknown
Naga ed-Deir Tomb N 202, 1901–1904
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, excavation photo B4475
Bilingual mummy label of Pachom, son of Panetbau
Upper Egypt?, Second or Third Century CE
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, T.Tebt. 1
Greek Writing on a Wooden Commodity Label
Egypt, Second or Third Century CE
Note identifying a shipment through a wine-merchant, with a hole to attach it to a container
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, T.Berk. 1
Limestone fragment with hieroglyphic texts from a false-door
Saqqara, Reign of pharaoh Teti (2323–2291 BCE)
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, University of California, Berkeley, I.Berk. 1