Color image of an egyptian boat with a large white sail printed on papyrus paper.

Papyrus is a paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, which was once abundant in the Sudd of Southern Sudan along with the Nile Delta of Egypt. Ancient Egyptians used this plant as a writing material and for boats, mattresses, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets. According to ancient Egyptian traditions, the solar boat was the means that the soul was transported in the afterlife to the heavens.