The Conservation of Documents

Abstract

Many different materials have been utilised in the past for written records. The oldest are stone and baked clay — going back at least 8000 years before the present. In Egypt papyrus was widely used from about 3000 bc until about the ninth century ad, when paper was introduced. Other materials used at different times and in different places include leather, parchment and vellum (all from animal skins), silk, ivory, bone, wood and metals. Most products derived from animals are based on proteins, whereas plant materials are essentially cellulose. Interestingly, the most ephemeral — papyrus and paper — have been the most widely used. They are easily destroyed by fire or water and are readily attacked by moulds, fungi and insects. However, in dry conditions they have shown remarkable powers of survival.