What is Bardy?
Bardy was used to make fist rolls of paper!, it's the oldest type of paper first found in ancient Egypt, and later in Rome and Greece. it's also know as "Papyrus". Papyrus plant played a significant role in writing, literacy, communication and documenting history to the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. Its position in revolutionary development of civilizations worldwide is remarkable. During the 3rd century B.C., papyrus was scarce because of the stock-rise in Alexandria library in Egypt.
THE PAPYRUS PLANT
Papyrus is from the family Cyperaceae or Cyperus papyrus. They are under the class of paper plants, which is the pride of Egyptians. You can also see it growing in Europe, at minor sections closer to Syracuse. The aquatic plant is grass-like, with a woody and triangular stem. The height is approximately 15 ft. in gently moving water, and the depth is about 3 ft. Its triangular stem grows up to 2 inches in width.
INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING PAPYRUS PAPER
Early paper makers used only few items as raw materials. The same applies in modern-day papyrus paper making. The raw materials needed today are:
- Papyrus plant/Cyperus papyrus
- Water
- Plastic bucket
Tools
- Old dishcloth
- 2 Wooden boards
- Hand planer
- Paper towels
- Clamps
- Bench Vice
- Rolling Pin
PREPARATION OF THE PAPYRUS PAPER
To prepare a papyrus paper, you need to follow these few tips for the best result.
Step 1: Harvest and get ready
Get a real Papyrus plant. It's in stores or online. Soak the plant for approximately 60 minutes to strengthen the stalks and ensure they don't crumble. Make little cuts to its base. For small sheets, 4-5 big stalks is ideal.. Chop off its top.
Step 2: Make the Strips
Use a hand planer with a sharp blade for quick cutting. Place your tool upside down while securing it with a bench tool. Then get the strip as you wish! Make sure it does not break!
Hard part
Carefully take the stalk by the extreme and flatten it on a planer. The triangular stalk will be easy to cut in a few diverse ways.
Carefully push each stalk into the edge till you get to its end. You can hold down its top while cutting for equal strips. Keep doing it till little is left of the papyrus. Then peel off its green bark, using an Exacto blade or your finger!
Step 3: Soak the Strips
After de-barking, soak the strips in the tub or bucket with water for three days to activate the sap or glue in the papyrus plant. This sap makes the resulting paper possible! If no odor or mold is notable, change the water every day!
Step 4: Lay the Strips straight
The original glue is ready in 3 days, so lay the strips on a paper towel. Place another cover of towels on it and roll to squeeze water out. Repeat it all the time using your rolling pin!
The plant layout makes Papyrus look distinct!
Don't weave the papyrus strips together. The natural glue will do that. At the base, lay the side of the strip by the side in a direction while intersecting at about 1/3. Repeat from the top down, but in a perpendicular direction to the base layer.
Overlapping action is vital for stopping strips shrinking while getting dry.
Step 5: Wrap and Dry
Use two, significantly larger than the papyrus sheet, boards of wood. Use the old cloth and paper towels of 3-4 sheets to lay over the sheets. Place the papyrus between the boards for a beautiful papyrus roll! Utilizing clamps, or giant vice, pin it tight. Allow a week to elapse!
But replace the towels daily.
Step 6: The magic!
Don't panic when stripping off the square! It will surely look chic! If you don't overlap well, you'll end up with damaged paper!
Step 7: Smoothing and Writing!
Using a smooth rock, polish your paper by rubbing it on the paper along the strip direction. It's ready for use!
WRITING
Papyrus is a plant grown and utilized as a writing material by Egyptians. Even today, the use of this plant in manufacturing of writing materials cannot be overemphasized. People still enjoy reading books or review documents on paper. During the 8th to 9th century, other plant fibers for producing paper began available. Therefore, some sectors tried to kick papyrus off as unnecessary. Even during the 3rd century, the Europeans seeked to replace papyrus by more affordable vellum. Yet no one was ever ready to replace papyrus paper for documents, and books. Papyrus paper continued to maintain its position till the 12th century consistently. Papyrus was utilized for papermaking in the 3100 B.C! Many scrolls were found tombs with such dates! Ancient Egyptians wrote with reed brushes, pens, and paint with malachite, charcoal, iron oxide!
PAPYRUS PRESERVATION
Papyrus scrolls were saved in wooden chests, jars, and sacred statues. Many have been removed from tombs, like an edition of the "Book of the Dead," the 52-feet-long funerary scroll! The book contains incantations and spells in the coffin, which belongs to Kha, a rich construction foreman, and his wife Merit! They were buried by 1386-1349 B.C. In addition some scrolls are in royal archives, in form of accounts, daybooks as well as other management letters on papyrus!
PAPYRUS REVOLUTION
Instead of the old process of the 16th century, the milling method took over. It is becoming a lucrative business. The 16th century experienced a type of moveable printing press and a rise in demand for writing materials. There were shortages of old rags leading to a search for a replacement.
Then, in the mid-1800s, wood pulp with another raw material, the chemical compound pulp came up again. The 19th centry saw a mechanical age of large-scale production of paper. And industries made their skilled craftsmen fill the need of the masses. From 1850 to 1950, novel techniques for making diverse paper types, weights, and grades emerged. There was a total revolution prospect for industries using paper for advertisement, arts, and publishing. During the 19th and 20th centry there was a significant rise in the demand for paper in all industries.
APPLICATIONS AND USE
Papyrus plant is useful in many areas like; a pool ornamental or conservatories, especially within warm zones. You can grow or pot the short variety- C. isolates, or C. papyrus 'Nanus,' indoors. The olden days Egyptians made cloths, sails, cords, mats, and paper from it. Papyrus papers were the major writing materials in Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire. The primary use of papyrus paper was in production of roll-like or scroll-like books, and legal documents.
Wrapping Up!
Papyrus paper is a symbol of human intellect, innovation, and aspiration. Even though the technological rise of electronic data storage has been evolving, from humble beginning in the ancient Egypt to today we continue to use paper. That’s prove of ingenuity.
