Researchers discover that the ancient Egyptians used an equivalent of correction fluid to fix mistakes on papyri

While preparing a papyrus some 3,300 years old for the exhibition "Made in Ancient Egypt" at the Fitzwilliam Museum in England, staff noticed that the painted figure of a jackal had been altered: the animal had been made slimmer.

The jackal is part of a scene from the Book of the Dead, a scroll intended to accompany the deceased into the afterlife and made for the tomb of the royal scribe Ramose. In the picture Ramose walks beside the jackal, which apparently represents the god Wepwawet, patron of armies and guardian of the dead.

White lines are visible along the upper and lower parts of the jackal's body, as well as along the front of its hind legs.

Analysis showed that the white paint was a mixture of the minerals huntite and calcite, and also contained particles of yellow pigment, probably to blend in better with the colour of fresh papyrus

Report a translation error

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Researchers discover that the ancient Egyptians used an equivalent of correction fluid to fix mistakes on papyri

Read more

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s