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The Papyrus Plant
The papyrus plant is found as the symbol of lower Egypt as early as the predynastic period, (i. e. ass far back as the fourth millennium B. C. ) .
Pharaohs used the roots as a fuel in the smelting of iron and copper.
The papyrus stalk, triangle in cross section, and reaching to ten feet or more in height,
is used for making paper. Entire rafts, canoes and skiffs were made of papyrus stalks
lashed together often with papyrus rope.
The Papyrus Paper
To make the papyrus paper, we take off the outer green skin of the papyrus stalk,
and then slices the internal part into strips. The slices hummered to squeeze water and break the fibres. We put the strips in water for 3 days, till it's full of water and become transparent and flexible. We cut the strips of papyrus to the required length and then place them on a piece of cotton overlapping the edges of each strip making two layers one horizontal and the other vertical. We place the sheet between two cardboards and press them. We change the cardboards every 8 hours till it completely dry. It takes about 3 days. Now it is ready to be used for painting. This is the first paper in history.