PAPYRUS
That
biblical literature was originally written on papyrus (rather than on
parchment) is evident from archaeological finds and textual analysis. In wadi
Murbaat (near the Dead Sea) a papyrus has been found from the 7th century BCE,
and another one, dating from the 4th century BCE, has been found above Jericho.
The imprints of papyri fibers have been found on the underside of some bullae
(such as the one bearing the inscription, "li- Gedalyahu asher al
ha-bayit"). These findings support the scholarly claim that the
"books" mentioned in the Bible (Jer 36; 15,16; Ezek 2,8-3,3) were
actually written on papyrus.
Over
800 scrolls have been found in Qumran, of which more than 60 (8%) are papyrus
scrolls. The Jewish sages disqualified Biblical scrolls written on papyri as
unfit for the ritual (see Mishnah, Meg 2:2), a prohibition which was not
observed by the Egyptian Jews.
Bar-Ilan,
M. (1995). Papyrus
http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/papyrus.html