The times., 1901-06-23

gether in the roll, unfolding from left to
right. which was the equivalent, in
Rome AID Egypt, of. our modern book.
The pith of the stem of the papyrus
plant, which grew in abundance along
the banks of the Nile, was cut into thin
strips. which were laid side by side
to form a sheet Each sheet, however,
was composed of two layers, in one of
which the strips ran horizontally and
in the other vertically. The layers We're
attached to each other by glue moisten-
ed with water, and after being pressed,
dried in the sun, and polished, so as
to make an even surface for the pen,
were ready for use.
The size of the sheets varied greatly,
q sheet of fine literary papyrus being
perhaps nine or ten inches wide, while
sheets for other uses might be five or
six inches. A roll sometimes measured
nearly 15u feet-twenty to thirty feet,
however being a more usual because
more useable length. Such a roll would
be sufficient, say, to contain two books
of Homer, whose Had or Odyssey
would thus be comprised in twelve sepa-
rate rolls. The writing was parallel
with the i;hl'e of the papyrus. and on
| that side of the sheet on which the
fbres were the shorter, apparently be-
cause greater perfection and eVenness
of stroke could thus be secured. The
papyri at Harvard are Drowned and
tattered after their fifteen centuries of
burial, but the writing on them is still
Al
wonders. indeed, whether our modern
inks end papers-even the best Of them
would stand so we'll a test so severe.
Nor are they so fragile as they would
appear TO be. The catalogue numbers
of the Semitic Museum have been writ
ten on them with modern pen and ink
without tearing or even scratching the
surface, and without any spreading of
the ink, as might have been expected.
Most Of the papyri discovered by the
Egypt Exploratitu Fund, including all
that have beeit seat to America, came
from the Fayum district on the west
bank of the Nile-the ancient district
of Arsenoe-or from the site of Oxy-
rhynchus near by, where an immense
heap of documents, apparently the
dumpings of some public record office,
was found. Searching for uapyri is a
science in itself, requiring perfect
knowledge of the most likely conditions
and the greatest patience and careful
ness.
The method of digging for papyri in
town site, indeed, presents some par
allels to that OF gold mining. The gold
seeker follows a vein OF quartz, while
the papyrus digger has to follow a
stratum. or vein, OF what the natives
call "afsh'--a convenient word which
in the limited vocabulary Of the fella-
heen can take a variety of meanings.
The gold digger does not look for gold
where there is no quartz. and similarly
| TIE papyrus seeker may practically dis
| regard any other kind of earth than
afsh. Objects Of stone. wood, or pot
/ terry he may find elsewhere, but with
| out afsh he will practically never find
papyrus. Ash consists of earth mixed
with particles of tvig or straw; and the
depth ef stratum Of it may vary from
few inches 10 a rumber of feet. Good
| afsh must not be too hard, for coagu-
lation is somehow fatal to the preser-
vation of papyri, nor yet too soft, foI
then it tends to become a fine, pow
! derry earth in which any fragile sub
stance such as papyrus must have de-
| composed. In general way afsh is Il
! be explained as house rubbish, in the
sense of what was rubbish at the time
the house was being used, but how
afsh comes to lie in the particular way:
in which it is found has not been ex.
planned.
It is Teckoned that half the papyr
reco1 cred in Egypt have been los
| through the ignorance or carelessnes:
of the natives who have found them
The first recorded discovery, in th'
Fayum district in 177s. is a case Il
point Nearly fifty rolls We're Offered
TO a dealer by the natives. The deale
bought one out OF curiosity, but refuses
the rest: whereupon they were burnet
by the natives, it is said, for the sake o
the smell they gave out Inasmuch
how ey er, as papyri more recently foun'
have not revealed any odor, agreeabl
or otherwise, while being burned, tn
last part of this story seems a littl
ia bulous