News from Samarqand: Islamic Papermaking

Ingredients

linen rags, mummy wrappings

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Rags were collected from big population centers and textile centers (p. 11). In Egypt, ancient mummy wrappings were harvested to provide the necessary linen fiber for pulp production (p. 10). The rags were sorted and fermented in water for five or six weeks until the heat of rotting was sufficient, a process signaled by the growth of mushrooms on the heaps (p. 12).

Evidence

"In Egypt, mummies were striped off their wrappings for that purpose [Karabacek 30]"

Remarks

By the 11th century, Cairo had an abundance of paper, used even by merchants for wrapping customer goods (p. 8). The high demand for raw materials led to the unusual practice of using ancient mummy linens as a source for paper pulp (p. 10).