From the Archives: The Nile

It is inevitable, at some point after I’ve returned from a trip I run out of blog-post steam. The notes I have made for myself about future posts no longer fire my imagination, or I don’t have enough information to turn them into stories.[1] Before I give up and move on to the other stories…

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From the Archives: Word with a Past–Parchment

And speaking of papyrus, as I believe we were, here’s a story that I first shared in 2013 in which papyrus played a critical role. It’s one I’ve always enjoyed. I hope you do,too. For hundreds of years papyrus was the principal material on which books (or at least hand-copied scrolls) were written. Since it…

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Boat Trip Through History: A Stop at the Papyrus Institute

Over the years, I have gone to many, many living history sites at which people in period costume demonstrate blacksmithing[1], quilting, weaving, making soap, and cooking in a pre-modern kitchen. Even when it is a traditional skill that I have seen demonstrated many times before, I always come away with a sense of amazement. I…

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