Writing was mostly done on papyrus made from the papyrus reed. The name ‘papyrus’ can perhaps be related to the Egyptian phrase ‘pa-per-ao’ meaning ‘that which belonged to the king’. This could relate to a royal monopoly where it concerns the export of papyrus, although this is not certain.
The inner white pith, cut into sections, of the thick reed stems, was placed vertically with the sections just touching. On top of this layer would go a similar layer, but placed in a horizontal position. This was then beaten with a mallet and afterwards a heavy weight was placed on top. Then followed a waiting period, as the paper had to be dry before it could be smoothed with a polished stone. Then it was ready to be used by the scribe.