Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
c. 1560 BCE
Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
Copied in year 33 of Apepi from an original of the reign of Amenemhat III.
- Material
- Papyrus, written in hieratic
- Findspot
- Thebes (where it was bought); its find context is unknown
- Discovery
- Bought in Thebes by the Scot Alexander Henry Rhind around 1858; it passed to the British Museum after his death.
- Held by
- The British Museum, London
- Inventory number
- EA 10057 (with EA 10058)
A collection of worked mathematical problems: fractions, areas, the volumes of granaries, and the slope of pyramids. Its scribe, Ahmose, says he copied it from an older original.
His note shows that scribes went on copying and teaching Middle Kingdom knowledge under Hyksos rule.
The scribe Ahmose dated the papyrus to year 33 of the Hyksos king Apepi and said it was copied from a text of Amenemhat III’s reign.
- The British Museum, London “Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, EA 10057” britishmuseum.org
Sources differ on when Rhind bought the papyrus, between 1858 and 1863.
Scholarly note: The British Museum gives about 1858, while correspondence published by researchers points to 1863.
- The British Museum, London “Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, EA 10057” britishmuseum.org