A trip to the British Museum in London, or even my local museum in Birmingham will reveal that the civilisation of the ancient Egyptians was very influential in architecture. The pyramids were counted among the seven Wonders of the Ancient World - five and a half thousand years on, they still pull the crowds. But paper, in the form of papyrus, was an older and far more important invention. It recorded their trade, payrolls, harvests, ship designs, mathematics, art, literature - and the plans for the building of the mighty pyramids, palaces, and temples. From 3100BC onwards they ran the great majority of their administration and bureaucracy on papyrus. They sold it to the civilisations around them, which furthered their cultures.
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Published in 1995, this is a concise and well written book from two of the British Museum's keepers of Egyptian Antiquities. Profusely illustrated with photographs and diagrams, it covers the manufacture of papyrus and many aspects of its usage. There is a useful bibliography and index.
The history and techniques of writing in varied cursive hieroglyphic and demotic styles naturally receives a good deal of attention. As a caveat I would say that the authors do seem to me to under-estimate the rate of 'full literacy' in Egyptian society, as they do not define what 'full' means, and clearly there are many levels and types of literacy in all societies, then as now. (Many an Egyptian businessman had to count his wages, or his change out of a shekel of silver!). A enjoyable and very informative book.
The review of this Book prepared by Michael JR Jose
