how is parchment Superior to papyrus ?
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Answer:
Paper has survived for centuries. It’s bio-degradable and recyclable. Even its by-products can be used to improve the quality of our lives. Such is the widespread use and enduring nature of paper, that we could be forgiven for thinking its development has been simple, seamless, the result of a ‘low technology’ of sorts. On the contrary, the development of papyrus, parchment and paper, the three mediums most often used for the leaves of books, has been quite radical…
Papyrus
Although not paper in the true sense, papyrus was the first writing material to assume many of the properties of what we now know as paper. Invented by the Egyptians in approximately 3000 B.C., papyrus leaves for writing were made from the papyrus water-plant which grew abundantly in the marshy delta of the River Nile. The stalks of the plant were cut just above the root and their flower heads removed. Parts nearest the root were also discarded as the middle sections were the widest and most refined for the making of large sheets. The remaining stalks were cut into pieces about 2 feet in length and split down the centre. Sections of tissue-thin strips were then laid upon a board, side by side, overlapping slightly, and covered with a thin paste of wheat flour, vinegar and muddy water from the Nile. Across this, another layer of strips was placed at right angles. The criss-crossed layers of papyrus were then dried under pressure (or hammered) and the surface finally polished with a smooth stone or shell. Ancient papyrus had little fold endurance and its tendency to crack saw it used mostly as a roll or scroll. Nevertheless, it remained a popular writing material until the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.