ABSTRACT
The ancient Egyptians apparently began to record their knowledge as early as the third millennium B.C. They developed hieroglyphic writing, which was used at first by carving on stone. The Egyptians used to write also on linen, leather, and parchment, and on pottery. In the Berlin museum, there are two papyri, the smaller one is a fragment which dates to 1450 B.C.; it contains prescriptions and magical recitations for the protection of mothers and children and also used for the treatment of the latter. The well-known English Egyptologist A. H. Gardiner transliterated this papyrus in 1935. According to Estes, The Leiden Papyrus is a collection of spells for a wide range of purposes. In 1896, Quibell found 17 papyri in a wooden box at the bottom under the brick magazines behind the temple of Ramesseum. Some medicines were translated as opium, hyoscyamus, and madragora. Some medicines were translated as opium, hyoscyamus, and madragora.
