OP ANCIENT PAPER. 557 



and laid side by side on a hard flat table; and other pieces, 

 similarly cut, were laid across them at right angles. They thus 

 formed a sheet of many pieces, which required a means of adhe- 

 sion, to become one united substance when closely pressed 

 together. This union was effected simply by sprinkling them 

 with water; since they themselves contain a sufficient amount of 

 gummy and saccharine matter, to adhere when this is dissolved 

 by the water. The ancient Egyptians made sheets of a pro- 

 digious length ; the celebrated traveller Belzoni had one which 

 was 23 feet long by 1 broad. From Egypt it was long ex- 

 ported in large quantities, especially to Greece and Rome ; and 

 was the only material employed for writings destined to be 

 preserved, until the invention of parchment, which took place 

 about 250 B. C. This for a long time, however, did not super- 

 sede papyrus, the demand for which at Rome continued for a 

 long time after the Christian era. The supply was interrupted 

 by the invasion of Egypt by the Saracens, in the seventh cen- 

 tury; and as parchment was then generally substituted for it, 

 the demand no longer existed. The latest notice of its regular 

 manufacture brings it down to the eleventh century. The 

 quantity made by the ancient Egyptians must have been 

 enormous, judging by the number of rolls frequently found in 

 the tombs, and in the mummy-cases. In the Museum of 

 Naples, there are nearly 1800 MSS. of this description, which 

 have been dug out of a small part of the city of Herculaneum ; 

 whence the number that must have existed in the Roman 

 Empire at that time, may be in some degree guessed at. The 

 paper produced from this substance, however so far as can be 

 judged of by the specimens which have been preserved to us, and 

 by the attempts which have been made to revive the manu- 

 facture was inferior to the paper we now produce from linen 

 and cotton rags, in every respect save durability. 



