Writing exercise in Greek

Around 1820, a set of archives was found in Saqqara, containing some 100 book scrolls. Today, these papyruses are scattered among a large number of museums. The National Museum of Antiquities possesses a historical narrative about Nectanebo II and a writing exercise from these archives. Many of the papyruses from the archives display the characteristic handwriting of the scribe Apollonios. This includes the writing exercise displayed here, which dates from his boyhood years. On this papyrus, the consonants of the Greek alphabet are linked to the seven known vowels in neat rows.