Natural History of Gaius Plinius Secundus, Vol. 2

...before the Trojan times. But as he himself reveals, the land was not even the whole of what is now understood as Egypt, since papyrus of that name grows at least in the Sebennytic [district]. Afterwards, it was silted up by the Nile. For it is reported that from the island of Pharos, which is now joined to Alexandria by a bridge, there was land by a day and night's voyage for a ship under sail. Later, because of the rivalry between the kings Ptolemy and Eumenes regarding libraries, with Ptolemy suppressing the supply of paper, the same Varro reports that parchment was discovered at Pergamum. Afterwards, the use of the material upon which the immortality of men depends became common. Therefore, papyrus grows in the marshes of Egypt, or in the still waters of the Nile where they have overflowed and stagnate, not exceeding two cubits in the depth of the pools, with a root of a cubit's thickness, triangular sides, and a length of no more than ten cubits, tapering to a slender point, including a top in the manner of a thyrsus. It has no seed, or any use for it other than the flower for crowning the gods. The inhabitants use the roots for firewood: not just for the sake of fire, but for other utensils of vessels as well. From the papyrus itself, they weave boats. And from the bark, sails and mats, and even clothing, blankets, and ropes. They also eat it raw and boiled, consuming only the juice. It grows also in Syria, around that lake of the fragrant calamus. Nor was there any other use for it than for ropes there for King Antigonus in naval matters, before spartum (esparto grass) was introduced. Recently, it was understood that the papyrus growing in the Euphrates around Babylon has the same use for paper. And yet, the Parthians still prefer to weave letters into their clothes. Paper is prepared from it, divided by a needle into extremely thin, but as wide as possible, strips.