Carlsberg papyrus
Encyclopedia
The Carlsberg papyrus is an ancient Egyptian
medical papyrus
. Mainly written in hieratic
and demotic
, with some components written in Ancient Greek
and hieroglyphics, the Carlsberg Papyrus is the most abundant ancient Egypt
ian medical papyri, containing more substantial amounts of artifacts of the original papyri than other medical papyri collections. The papyrus deals mainly with treatment for eye diseases and pregnancy
. It currently resides in the Egyptological Institute of the University of Copenhagen
.
manuscripts — date back to ca. 1st century A.D.
Aksel Volten was keeper of the collection since 1943. By 1954 he was able to enlarge it substantially through new acquisitions with funds mainly provided by the Carlsberg Foundation
.
and in Greek
. The actual contents of the papyrus vary greatly, but it focuses mainly on treatment for eye diseases and pregnancy. The structure of the papyrus bears great resemblance to that of the Kahun
and Berlin
papyri.
The collection was further expanded through acquisitions from Professor H. O. Lange and Professor C. E. Sander-Hansen, private owners of several papyri. Two Coptic codices purchased from Carl Schmidt and the Teaching of King Merikare further added to the collection.
More than six hundred individual manuscripts have been recorded, some of which have been pieced together from dozens or even hundreds of fragments.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
medical papyrus
Medical papyri
Egyptian medical papyri are ancient Egyptian texts written on papyrus which permit a glimpse at medical procedures and practices in ancient Egypt. The papyri give details on disease, diagnosis, and remedies of disease, which include herbal remedies, surgery, and magical spells. It is thought there...
. Mainly written in hieratic
Hieratic
Hieratic refers to a cursive writing system that was used in the provenance of the pharaohs in Egypt and Nubia that developed alongside the hieroglyphic system, to which it is intimately related...
and demotic
Demotic (Egyptian)
Demotic refers to either the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Delta, or the stage of the Egyptian language following Late Egyptian and preceding Coptic. The term was first used by the Greek historian Herodotus to distinguish it from hieratic and...
, with some components written in Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
and hieroglyphics, the Carlsberg Papyrus is the most abundant ancient Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian medical papyri, containing more substantial amounts of artifacts of the original papyri than other medical papyri collections. The papyrus deals mainly with treatment for eye diseases and pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. It currently resides in the Egyptological Institute of the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
.
History
Some fragments of the Carlsberg papyrus collection date back to ca. 2000 B.C., while others — such as the TebtunisTebtunis
Tebtunis is an Ancient Egyptian city. Its modern site is the village of Tell Umm el-Baragat in the Al Fayyum Governorate. It was also known as Theodosiopolis during the Greco-Roman period.-History:...
manuscripts — date back to ca. 1st century A.D.
Aksel Volten was keeper of the collection since 1943. By 1954 he was able to enlarge it substantially through new acquisitions with funds mainly provided by the Carlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876 and owns 30,3% of the shares in Carlsberg Group and has 74,2% of the voting power.The purpose of the foundation is to run and fund Carlsberg Laboratory, the museum at Frederiksborg Palace, to fund scientific research, run the Ny Carlsberg...
.
Contents
Most of the texts are written in hieratic and demotic scripts, although there are several texts written in hieroglyphsHieroglyphs
Hieroglyph or hieroglyphics may refer to:*Anatolian hieroglyphs*Chinese character*Cretan hieroglyphs*Cursive hieroglyphs*Dongba script*Egyptian hieroglyphs*Hieroglyphic Luwian*Mayan hieroglyphs...
and in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
. The actual contents of the papyrus vary greatly, but it focuses mainly on treatment for eye diseases and pregnancy. The structure of the papyrus bears great resemblance to that of the Kahun
Kahun Papyrus
The Kahun Papyri are a collection of ancient Egyptian texts discussing administrative, mathematical and medical topics. Its many fragments were discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1889 and are kept at the University College London. This collection of papyri is one of the largest ever found. Most of...
and Berlin
Berlin papyrus
The Berlin Papyrus 6619, commonly known as the Berlin Papyrus, is an ancient Egyptian papyrus document from the Middle Kingdom. This papyrus was found at the ancient burial ground of Saqqara in the early 19th century CE....
papyri.
The collection was further expanded through acquisitions from Professor H. O. Lange and Professor C. E. Sander-Hansen, private owners of several papyri. Two Coptic codices purchased from Carl Schmidt and the Teaching of King Merikare further added to the collection.
More than six hundred individual manuscripts have been recorded, some of which have been pieced together from dozens or even hundreds of fragments.