74-527: The Riverside Restaurant was a seafood restaurant in West Bay , England . The building is situated on a causeway and as such the dining area was on two levels with views of the river and beyond to the sea. In 2006 locally based food writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall listed it as one of his top five seafood restaurants. In 2004 it was voted one of The Observer newspaper 's Top 10 Seafood Restaurants. Fearnley-Whittingstall has also described it as arguably
148-649: A scroll , an early form of a book. Papyrus was first known to have been used in Egypt (at least as far back as the First Dynasty ), as the papyrus plant was once abundant across the Nile Delta . It was also used throughout the Mediterranean region. Apart from writing material, ancient Egyptians employed papyrus in the construction of other artifacts , such as reed boats , mats , rope , sandals , and baskets . Papyrus
222-518: A time temperature indicator on certain fresh chilled seafood products. Because fresh fish is highly perishable, it must be eaten promptly or discarded; it can be kept for only a short time. In many countries, fresh fish are filleted and displayed for sale on a bed of crushed ice or refrigerated . Fresh fish is most commonly found near bodies of water, but the advent of refrigerated train and truck transportation has made fresh fish more widely available inland. Long term preservation of fish
296-537: A 2014 study published in PLOS One found that 15% of MSC certified Patagonian toothfish originated from uncertified and mercury polluted fisheries. These fishery-stock substitutions had 100% more mercury than their genuine counterparts, "vastly exceeding" limits in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Research into population trends of various species of seafood is pointing to a global collapse of seafood species by 2048. Such
370-406: A 40,000-year-old anatomically modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish. Archaeology features such as shell middens , discarded fish bones, and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on
444-591: A collapse would occur due to pollution and overfishing , threatening oceanic ecosystems, according to some researchers. A major international scientific study released in November 2006 in the journal Science found that about one-third of all fishing stocks worldwide have collapsed (with a collapse being defined as a decline to less than 10% of their maximum observed abundance), and that if current trends continue all fish stocks worldwide will collapse within fifty years. In July 2009, Boris Worm of Dalhousie University ,
518-433: A distinct smell. It also exists in freshwater species, but becomes more numerous in the cells of an animal the deeper it lives, so fish from the deeper parts of the ocean have a stronger taste than species that live in shallow water. Eggs from seaweed contain sex pheromones called dictyopterenes, which are meant to attract the sperm. These pheromones are also found in edible seaweeds, which contributes to their aroma. There
592-456: A few selected fish species, among women of childbearing age. Avoidance of modest fish consumption due to confusion regarding risks and benefits could result in thousands of excess CHD [congenital heart disease] deaths annually and suboptimal neurodevelopment in children." Due to the wide array of options in the seafood marketplace, seafood is far more susceptible to mislabeling than terrestrial food. There are more than 1,700 species of seafood in
666-409: A hard surface with their edges slightly overlapping, and then another layer of strips is laid on top at right angles. The strips may have been soaked in water long enough for decomposition to begin, perhaps increasing adhesion, but this is not certain. The two layers possibly were glued together. While still moist, the two layers were hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. The sheet
740-481: A healthy and balanced diet. The UK National Health Service gives similar advice, recommending at least 2 portions (about 10 oz) of fish weekly. The Chinese National Health Commission recommends slightly more, advising 10–20 oz of fish weekly. There are numerous factors to consider when evaluating health hazards in seafood. These concerns include marine toxins, microbes, foodborne illness , radionuclide contamination , and man-made pollutants. Shellfish are among
814-410: A highly toxic organic compound of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and microplastics. Species of fish that are high on the food chain , such as shark , swordfish , king mackerel , albacore tuna , and tilefish contain higher concentrations of these bioaccumulates. This is because bioaccumulates are stored in the muscle tissues of fish, and when a predatory fish eats another fish, it assumes
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#1733085283582888-425: A list of fish prices. The cheapest was skaren (probably parrotfish ) whereas Atlantic bluefin tuna was three times as expensive. Common salt water fish were yellowfin tuna , red mullet , ray , swordfish , or sturgeon , a delicacy that was eaten salted. Lake Copais itself was famous in all of Greece for its eels , celebrated by the hero of The Acharnians . Other freshwater fish were pike fish , carp , and
962-618: A loanword of unknown (perhaps Pre-Greek ) origin. Greek has a second word for it, βύβλος ( byblos ), said to derive from the name of the Phoenician city of Byblos . The Greek writer Theophrastus , who flourished during the 4th century BCE, uses papyros when referring to the plant used as a foodstuff and byblos for the same plant when used for nonfood products, such as cordage, basketry, or writing surfaces. The more specific term βίβλος biblos , which finds its way into English in such words as 'bibliography', 'bibliophile', and 'bible', refers to
1036-663: A matter of decades; a 200-year-old papyrus was considered extraordinary. Imported papyrus once commonplace in Greece and Italy has since deteriorated beyond repair, but papyri are still being found in Egypt; extraordinary examples include the Elephantine papyri and the famous finds at Oxyrhynchus and Nag Hammadi . The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum , containing the library of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus , Julius Caesar 's father-in-law,
1110-456: A pastime. Fishing scenes are rarely represented in ancient Greek culture, a reflection of the low social status of fishing. However, Oppian of Corycus , a Greek author wrote a major treatise on sea fishing, the Halieulica or Halieutika , composed between 177 and 180. This is the earliest such work to have survived to the modern day. The consumption of fish varied by the wealth and location of
1184-519: A post-resurrection scene, Jesus tells his disciples where they can catch fish, before cooking breakfast for them to eat. Pescatarianism was widespread in the early Christian Church , among both the clergy and laity. In ancient and medieval times, the Catholic Church forbade the practice of eating meat, eggs and dairy products during Lent . Thomas Aquinas argued that these "afford greater pleasure as food [than fish], and greater nourishment to
1258-590: A trade advocacy group representing the United States seafood industry, disagree. They claim that currently observed declines in fish populations are due to natural fluctuations and that enhanced technologies will eventually alleviate whatever impact humanity is having on oceanic life. For the most part Islamic dietary laws allow the eating of seafood, though the Hanbali forbid eels, the Shafi forbid frogs and crocodiles, and
1332-502: Is accomplished in a variety of ways. The oldest and still most widely used techniques are drying and salting . Desiccation (complete drying) is commonly used to preserve fish such as cod . Partial drying and salting are popular for the preservation of fish like herring and mackerel . Fish such as salmon , tuna , and herring are cooked and canned . Most fish are filleted before canning, but some small fish (e.g. sardines ) are only decapitated and gutted before canning. Seafood
1406-412: Is broad scientific consensus that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) found in seafood are beneficial to neurodevelopment and cognition, especially at young ages. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has described fish as "nature's super food." Seafood consumption is associated with improved neurologic development during pregnancy and early childhood and
1480-697: Is consumed all over the world; it provides the world's prime source of high-quality protein : 14–16% of the animal protein consumed worldwide; over one billion people rely on seafood as their primary source of animal protein. Fish is among the most common food allergens . Since 1960, annual global seafood consumption has more than doubled to over 20 kg per capita. Among the top consumers are Korea (78.5 kg per head), Norway (66.6 kg) and Portugal (61.5 kg). The UK Food Standards Agency recommends that at least two portions of seafood should be consumed each week, one of which should be oil-rich. There are over 100 different types of seafood available around
1554-506: Is cooked. Delivery of live fish without water is also being explored. While some seafood restaurants keep live fish in aquaria for display purposes or cultural beliefs, the majority of live fish are kept for dining customers. The live food fish trade in Hong Kong , for example, is estimated to have driven imports of live food fish to more than 15,000 tonnes in 2000. Worldwide sales that year were estimated at US$ 400 million, according to
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#17330852835821628-423: Is essential for healthy skin and muscles as well as fertility. Casanova reputedly ate 50 oysters a day. Over 33,000 species of fish and many more marine invertebrate species have been identified. Bromophenols, which are produced by marine algae, give marine animals an odor and taste that is absent from freshwater fish and invertebrates. Also, a chemical substance called dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) that
1702-450: Is found in red and green algae is transferred into animals in the marine food chain. When broken down, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is produced, and is often released during food preparation when fresh fish and shellfish are heated. In small quantities it creates a specific smell one associates with the ocean, but in larger quantities gives the impression of rotten seaweed and old fish. Another molecule known as TMAO occurs in fishes and gives them
1776-677: Is more tenuously linked to reduced mortality from coronary heart disease . Fish consumption has been associated with a decreased risk of dementia , lung cancer and stroke . A 2020 umbrella review concluded that fish consumption reduces all-cause mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke and other outcomes. The review suggested that two to four servings per week is generally safe. However, two other recent umbrella reviews have found no statistically significant associations between fish consumption and cancer risks and have cautioned researchers when it comes to interpreting reported associations between fish consumption and cancer risks because
1850-442: Is of highly rot-resistant cellulose , but storage in humid conditions can result in molds attacking and destroying the material. Library papyrus rolls were stored in wooden boxes and chests made in the form of statues. Papyrus scrolls were organized according to subject or author and identified with clay labels that specified their contents without having to unroll the scroll. In European conditions, papyrus seems to have lasted only
1924-520: Is often inaccurate or unavailable. While ciguatera is relatively widespread compared to other seafood-related health hazards (up to 50,000 people suffer from ciguatera every year), mortality is very low. Scombroid food poisoning , is also a seafood illness. It is typically caused by eating fish high in histamine from being stored or processed improperly. Fish and shellfish have a natural tendency to concentrate inorganic and organic toxins and pollutants in their bodies, including methylmercury ,
1998-650: The Cambridge Antiquarian Society , one of the Papyri Graecae Magicae V, translated into English with commentary in 1853. Papyrus was made in several qualities and prices. Pliny the Elder and Isidore of Seville described six variations of papyrus that were sold in the Roman market of the day. These were graded by quality based on how fine, firm, white, and smooth the writing surface was. Grades ranged from
2072-642: The FAO to collect and compile fishery statistics. The production figures have been extracted from the FAO FishStat database, and include both capture from wild fisheries and aquaculture production. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fish is a highly perishable product: the "fishy" smell of dead fish is due to the breakdown of amino acids into biogenic amines and ammonia . Live food fish are often transported in tanks at high expense for an international market that prefers its seafood killed immediately before it
2146-627: The Great Pyramid of Giza . For multiple millennia, papyrus was commonly rolled into scrolls as a form of storage. However, at some point late in its history, papyrus began being collected together in the form of codices akin to the modern book. This may have been mimicking the book-form of codices created with parchment . Early Christian writers soon adopted the codex form, and in the Greco-Roman world, it became common to cut sheets from papyrus rolls to form codices. Codices were an improvement on
2220-727: The Hanafi forbid bottom feeders such as shellfish and carp . The Jewish laws of Kashrut forbid the eating of shellfish and eels. In the Old Testament, the Mosaic Covenant allowed the Israelites to eat Finfish , but shellfish and eels were an abomination and not allowed. In the New Testament , Luke's gospel reports Jesus' eating of a fish after his resurrection , and in John 21 , also
2294-569: The Islamic world , which originally learned of it from the Chinese. By the 12th century, parchment and paper were in use in the Byzantine Empire , but papyrus was still an option. Until the middle of the 19th century, only some isolated documents written on papyrus were known, and museums simply showed them as curiosities. They did not contain literary works. The first modern discovery of papyri rolls
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2368-587: The Merovingian chancery was with a document from 692 A.D., though it was known in Gaul until the middle of the following century. The latest certain dates for the use of papyrus in Europe are 1057 for a papal decree (typically conservative, all papal bulls were on papyrus until 1022), under Pope Victor II , and 1087 for an Arabic document. Its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced by less expensive paper introduced by
2442-599: The Paleolithic . Findings in a sea cave at Pinnacle Point in South Africa indicate Homo sapiens (modern humans) harvested marine life as early as 165,000 years ago, while the Neanderthals , an extinct human species contemporary with early Homo sapiens , appear to have been eating seafood at sites along the Mediterranean coast beginning around the same time. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man ,
2516-560: The 18th century, a library of ancient papyri was found in Herculaneum , ripples of expectation spread among the learned men of the time. However, since these papyri were badly charred, their unscrolling and deciphering are still going on today. Papyrus was made from the stem of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus . The outer rind was first removed, and the sticky fibrous inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin strips about 40 cm (16 in) long. The strips were then placed side by side on
2590-453: The 1950s in Minamata , Japan . Wastewater from a nearby chemical factory released methylmercury that accumulated in fish which were consumed by humans. Severe mercury poisoning is now known as Minamata disease . The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster and 1947 - 1991 Marshall Islands nuclear bomb testing led to dangerous radionuclide contamination of local sea life which, in
2664-577: The United States' consumer marketplace, 80 - 90% of which are imported and less than 1% of which are tested for fraud. However, more recent research into seafood imports and consumption patterns among consumers in the United States suggests that 35%-38% of seafood products are of domestic origin. consumption suggests Estimates of mislabelled seafood in the United States range from 33% in general up to 86% for particular species. Byzantine supply chains , frequent bycatch, brand naming, species substitution, and inaccurate ecolabels all contribute to confusion for
2738-520: The World Resources Institute. If the cool chain has not been adhered to correctly, food products generally decay and become harmful before the validity date printed on the package. As the potential harm for a consumer when eating rotten fish is much larger than for example with dairy products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has introduced regulation in the USA requiring the use of
2812-821: The author of the November 2006 study in Science , co-authored an update on the state of the world's fisheries with one of the original study's critics, Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington at Seattle. The new study found that through good fisheries management techniques even depleted fish stocks can be revived and made commercially viable again. An analysis published in August 2020 indicates that seafood could theoretically increase sustainably by 36–74% by 2050 compared to current yields and that whether or not these production potentials are realised sustainably depends on several factors "such as policy reforms, technological innovation, and
2886-536: The beginning of the Imperial era, however, this custom suddenly came to an end, which is why mullus in the feast of Trimalchio (see the Satyricon ) could be shown as a characteristic of the parvenu , who bores his guests with an unfashionable display of dying fish. In medieval times, seafood was less prestigious than other animal meats, and was often seen as merely an alternative to meat on fast days. Still, seafood
2960-679: The coast of the UK. Oil-rich fish such as mackerel or herring are rich in long chain Omega-3 oils. These oils are found in every cell of the human body, and are required for human biological functions such as brain functionality. Whitefish such as haddock and cod are very low in fat and calories which, combined with oily fish rich in Omega-3 such as mackerel , sardines , fresh tuna , salmon and trout , can help to protect against coronary heart disease , as well as helping to develop strong bones and teeth. Shellfish are particularly rich in zinc , which
3034-401: The consumer. A 2013 study by Oceana found that one third of seafood sampled from the United States was incorrectly labeled. Snapper and tuna were particularly susceptible to mislabelling, and seafood substitution was the most common type of fraud. Another type of mislabelling is short-weighting, where practices such as overglasing or soaking can misleadingly increase the apparent weight of
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3108-493: The dried fish with a mallet before soaking it in water. A wide range of mollusks (including oysters , mussels and scallops ) were eaten by coastal and river-dwelling populations, and freshwater crayfish were seen as a desirable alternative to meat during fish days. Compared to meat, fish was much more expensive for inland populations, especially in Central Europe, and therefore not an option for most. Modern knowledge of
3182-445: The entire body burden of bioaccumulates in the consumed fish. Thus species that are high on the food chain amass body burdens of bioaccumulates that can be ten times higher than the species they consume. This process is called biomagnification . Man-made disasters can cause localized hazards in seafood which may spread widely via piscine food chains. The first occurrence of widespread mercury poisoning in humans occurred this way in
3256-404: The extent of future shifts in demand". The FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 report estimates that in 2003, of the main fish stocks or groups of resources for which assessment information is available, "approximately one-quarter were overexploited , depleted or recovering from depletion (16%, 7% and 1% respectively) and needed rebuilding." The National Fisheries Institute ,
3330-696: The fish. For supermarket shoppers, many seafood products are unrecognisable fillets . Without sophisticated DNA testing , there is no foolproof method to identify a fish species without their head, skin, and fins. This creates easy opportunities to substitute cheap products for expensive ones, a form of economic fraud. Beyond financial concerns, significant health risks arise from hidden pollutants and marine toxins in an already fraught marketplace. Seafood fraud has led to widespread keriorrhea due to mislabeled escolar, mercury poisoning from products marketed as safe for pregnant women, and hospitalisation and neurological damage due to mislabeled pufferfish . For example,
3404-485: The household. In the Greek islands and on the coast, fresh fish and seafood ( squid , octopus , and shellfish ) were common. They were eaten locally but more often transported inland. Sardines and anchovies were regular fare for the citizens of Athens. They were sometimes sold fresh, but more frequently salted. A stele of the late 3rd century BCE from the small Boeotian city of Akraiphia , on Lake Copais , provides us with
3478-570: The human body, so that from their consumption there results in a greater surplus available for seminal matter, which when abundant becomes a great incentive to lust". In the United States, the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent has popularised the Friday fish fry , and parishes often sponsor a fish fry during Lent. In predominantly Roman Catholic areas, restaurants may adjust their menus during Lent by adding seafood items to
3552-479: The inner bark of the papyrus plant. Papyrus is also the etymon of 'paper', a similar substance. In the Egyptian language , papyrus was called wadj ( w3ḏ ), tjufy ( ṯwfy ) , or djet ( ḏt ). The word for the material papyrus is also used to designate documents written on sheets of it, often rolled up into scrolls. The plural for such documents is papyri. Historical papyri are given identifying names – generally
3626-604: The last century when a tent was erected during the Summer to provide tea and cakes. This was replaced by increasingly enlarged wooden huts and a Post Office was located on the same site. The present owners who had been in occupation since 1964 decided to rebuild the Riverside in 1976 to a design by the Architects Piers Gough and Roger Zogolovitch. The building has had a few additions since that date but has remained largely
3700-474: The latter case, remained as of 2008. A widely cited study in JAMA which synthesized government and MEDLINE reports, and meta-analyses to evaluate risks from methylmercury, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls to cardiovascular health and links between fish consumption and neurologic outcomes concluded that: "The benefits of modest fish consumption (1-2 servings/wk) outweigh the risks among adults and, excepting
3774-461: The less appreciated catfish . Pictorial evidence of Roman fishing comes from mosaics . At a certain time, the goatfish was considered the epitome of luxury, above all because its scales exhibit a bright red colour when it dies out of water. For this reason, these fish were occasionally allowed to die slowly at the table. There even was a recipe where this would take place in Garo , in the sauce . At
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#17330852835823848-413: The liver, roe, head, and intestines of reef fish . It is the most common disease associated with seafood consumption and poses the greatest risk to consumers. The population of plankton that produces these toxins varies significantly over time and location, as seen in red tides. Evaluating the risk of ciguatera in any given fish requires specific knowledge of its origin and life history, information that
3922-440: The long strip scrolls required, several such sheets were united and placed so all the horizontal fibres parallel with the roll's length were on one side and all the vertical fibres on the other. Normally, texts were first written on the recto , the lines following the fibres, parallel to the long edges of the scroll. Secondarily, papyrus was often reused, writing across the fibres on the verso . One source used for determining
3996-427: The menu. Papyrus Papyrus ( / p ə ˈ p aɪ r ə s / pə- PY -rəs ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface . It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus , a wetland sedge . Papyrus (plural: papyri or papyruses ) can also refer to a document written on sheets of such material, joined side by side and rolled up into
4070-416: The method by which papyrus was created in antiquity is through the examination of tombs in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes , which housed a necropolis containing many murals displaying the process of papyrus-making. The Roman commander Pliny the Elder also describes the methods of preparing papyrus in his Naturalis Historia . In a dry climate , like that of Egypt, papyrus is stable, formed as it
4144-489: The more common food allergens . Most of these dangers can be mitigated or avoided with accurate knowledge of when and where seafood is caught. However, consumers have limited access to relevant and actionable information in this regard and the seafood industry's systemic problems with mislabelling make decisions about what is safe even more fraught. Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is an illness resulting from consuming toxins produced by dinoflagellates which bioaccumulate in
4218-452: The most child-friendly restaurant in the country. It also received critical acclaim from indulgesouthwest.co.uk food magazine and Harden's Restaurant Guide The restaurant served local fish and was traditionally closed in the December and January months (the months when the fishermen do not go out in the area due to rough seas). The origins of the Riverside stretch back into the early part of
4292-512: The move. However, early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied), such as those at Lepenski Vir , were almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food. The ancient river Nile was full of fish; fresh and dried fish were a staple food for much of the population. The Egyptians had implements and methods for fishing and these are illustrated in tomb scenes, drawings, and papyrus documents. Some representations hint at fishing being pursued as
4366-851: The name of the discoverer, first owner, or institution where they are kept – and numbered, such as " Papyrus Harris I ". Often an abbreviated form is used, such as "pHarris I". These documents provide important information on ancient writings; they give us the only extant copy of Menander , the Egyptian Book of the Dead , Egyptian treatises on medicine (the Ebers Papyrus ) and on surgery (the Edwin Smith papyrus ), Egyptian mathematical treatises (the Rhind papyrus ), and Egyptian folk tales (the Westcar Papyrus ). When, in
4440-422: The papyrus scroll, as the papyrus was not pliable enough to fold without cracking, and a long roll, or scroll, was required to create large-volume texts. Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of perfect quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used
4514-582: The quality of evidence is very low. The parts of fish containing essential fats and micronutrients, often cited as primary health benefits of eating seafood, are frequently discarded in the developed world . Micronutrients including calcium, potassium, selenium, zinc, and iodine are found in their highest concentrations in the head, intestines, bones, and scales. Government recommendations promote moderate consumption of fish. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends moderate (4 oz for children and 8–12 oz for adults, weekly) consumption of fish as part of
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#17330852835824588-493: The reproductive cycles of aquatic species has led to the development of hatcheries and improved techniques of fish farming and aquaculture . A better understanding of the hazards of eating raw and undercooked fish and shellfish has led to improved preservation methods and processing. The following table is based on the ISSCAAP classification (International Standard Statistical Classification of Aquatic Animals and Plants) used by
4662-477: The restaurant offering a full seafood menu. The restaurant changed hands in 2018. Seafood Seafood is the culinary name for food that comes from any form of sea life , prominently including fish and shellfish . Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams , oysters , and mussels ). The harvesting, processing, and consuming of seafoods are ancient practices with archaeological evidence dating back well into
4736-446: The same. In 1964 the trade was limited to local fishermen , coach parties and people on camping holidays in the area. The menu was fairly basic with roast dinners and cream teas the specialities, although local fish and shellfish were listed. The rebuild in 1976 coincided with the spread of car ownership and holiday homes. This, allied to the appearance on television of champions of seafood such as Keith Floyd and Rick Stein , led to
4810-408: The superfine Augustan, which was produced in sheets of 13 digits (10 inches) wide, to the least expensive and most coarse, measuring six digits (four inches) wide. Materials deemed unusable for writing or less than six digits were considered commercial quality and were pasted edge to edge to be used only for wrapping. The English word "papyrus" derives, via Latin , from Greek πάπυρος ( papyros ),
4884-488: The surface. The main advantage of papyrus had been its cheaper raw material — the papyrus plant is easy to cultivate in a suitable climate and produces more writing material than animal hides (the most expensive books, made from foetal vellum would take up to dozens of bovine fetuses to produce). However, as trade networks declined, the availability of papyrus outside the range of the papyrus plant became limited and it thus lost its cost advantage. Papyrus' last appearance in
4958-547: The tourist trade was developed in 1962 by the Egyptian engineer Hassan Ragab using plants that had been reintroduced into Egypt in 1872 from France. Both Sicily and Egypt have centres of limited papyrus production. Papyrus is still used by communities living in the vicinity of swamps, to the extent that rural householders derive up to 75% of their income from swamp goods. Particularly in East and Central Africa, people harvest papyrus, which
5032-564: The wild. During the 1920s, when Egyptologist Battiscombe Gunn lived in Maadi , outside Cairo, he experimented with the manufacture of papyrus, growing the plant in his garden. He beat the sliced papyrus stalks between two layers of linen and produced successful examples of papyrus, one of which was exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The modern technique of papyrus production used in Egypt for
5106-502: Was also limited. Papyrus was gradually overtaken in Europe by a rival writing surface that rose in prominence known as parchment , which was made from animal skins . By the beginning of the fourth century A.D., the most important books began to be manufactured in parchment, and works worth preserving were transferred from papyrus to parchment. Parchment had significant advantages over papyrus, including higher durability in moist climates and being more conducive to writing on both sides of
5180-496: Was first manufactured in Egypt as far back as the third millennium BCE. The earliest archaeological evidence of papyrus was excavated in 2012 and 2013 at Wadi al-Jarf , an ancient Egyptian harbor located on the Red Sea coast. These documents, the Diary of Merer , date from c. 2560 –2550 BCE (end of the reign of Khufu ). The papyrus rolls describe the last years of building
5254-557: Was made at Herculaneum in 1752. Until then, the only papyri known had been a few surviving from medieval times. Scholarly investigations began with the Dutch historian Caspar Jacob Christiaan Reuvens (1793–1835). He wrote about the content of the Leyden papyrus , published in 1830. The first publication has been credited to the British scholar Charles Wycliffe Goodwin (1817–1878), who published for
5328-472: Was preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius but has only been partially excavated. Sporadic attempts to revive the manufacture of papyrus have been made since the mid-18th century. Scottish explorer James Bruce experimented in the late 18th century with papyrus plants from Sudan , for papyrus had become extinct in Egypt. Also in the 18th century, Sicilian Saverio Landolina manufactured papyrus at Syracuse , where papyrus plants had continued to grow in
5402-488: Was the mainstay of many coastal populations. Kippers made from herring caught in the North Sea could be found in markets as far away as Constantinople . While large quantities of fish were eaten fresh, a large proportion was salted, dried, and, to a lesser extent, smoked. Stockfish - cod that was split down the middle, fixed to a pole, and dried - was very common, though preparation could be time-consuming, and meant beating
5476-467: Was then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet was polished with a rounded object, possibly a stone, seashell , or round hardwood. Sheets, or Mollema, could be cut to fit the obligatory size or glued together to create a longer roll. The point where the Mollema are joined with glue is called the kollesis. A wooden stick would be attached to the last sheet in a roll, making it easier to handle. To form
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