Papyrus: pronounced "pa-pie-russ" Paper made from the papyrus reed, the bulrush that grows along the Nile banks. Ancient Egyptian paper makers sliced the pith into long strips and made a double layer sheet – placing one layer of strips running down, the other running crosswise. Using a mallet, they pounded the paper. The plant's sap made it stick together into a single sheet.
Egypt exported papyrus until the 12th Century AD when rag and wood pulp paper began to replace it.
