Damage assessment of parchment: complexity and relations at different structural levels

Abstract

Parchment is composed mostly of the protein collagen, which displays a discrete structural hierarchy, from the molecular to microscopic levels. Collagen degradation at any or all levels of the structural hierarchy over time may influence the physical characteristics of historically important documents. We present a multidisciplinary approach to understanding collagen degradation, using a variety of techniques capable of detailed analysis of various levels of the structural hierarchy, collated to produce a damage picture. A large pool of artificially aged and historical samples is assessed to provide a clear understanding of the potential degradative pathways of parchment.