It later entered the collection of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, where it remains today.

Based on the palaeography and orthography of the hieratic text, the text was most likely written down in the 13th Dynasty and based on older material probably dating to the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt, roughly 1850 BC.

[1] Approximately 5.5 m (18 ft) long and varying between 3.8 and 7.6 cm (1.5 and 3 in) wide, its format was divided by the Soviet Orientalist Vasily Vasilievich Struve[2] in 1930[3] into 25 problems with solutions.

Problems 10 and 14 compute a surface area and the volume of a frustum respectively.

For instance, problem 19 asks one to calculate a quantity taken 1+1⁄2 times and added to 4 to make 10.

[1] In other words, in modern mathematical notation one is asked to solve

Problem 23 finds the output of a shoemaker given that he has to cut and decorate sandals.

[1] The tenth problem of the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus asks for a calculation of the surface area of a hemisphere (Struve, Gillings) or possibly the area of a semi-cylinder (Peet).

The fourteenth problem of the Moscow Mathematical calculates the volume of a frustum.

[1] The text of the example runs like this: "If you are told: a truncated pyramid of 6 for the vertical height by 4 on the base by 2 on the top: You are to square the 4; result 16.

You will find [it] right" [6] The solution to the problem indicates that the Egyptians knew the correct formula for obtaining the volume of a truncated pyramid: where a and b are the base and top side lengths of the truncated pyramid and h is the height.

[7] Richard J. Gillings gave a cursory summary of the Papyrus' contents.

; unit fractions were common objects of study in ancient Egyptian mathematics.

Other mathematical texts from Ancient Egypt include: General papyri: For the 2/n tables see: