Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

FoolInTheDesert t1_j5w8u11 wrote

Are there any studies out there comparing papyrus to paper to see how they age, degrade, etc? Maybe the paper just doesn't last as long so finding examples that are contemporaneous with ancient papyrus would be more difficult. Just a theory!

1

War_Hymn t1_j5ztilm wrote

Papyrus will be the loser in that department, as papyrus contains a lot of sugars (it was a major source of sugar in Egypt, up until sugarcane was introduced) that actually helps wetted strips of papyrus adhere to each other when they make papyrus paper. The high sugar content in turn makes it more vulnerable to insect or mold damage, especially in non-arid climates. In Europe, it was rare for a piece of papyrus to last for more than a few decades. On the other hand, we have a Chinese paper copy of the Diamond Sutra that dates back to 868 CE and still in relatively good condition.

1