Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (18.2006(2008))

SHEIKH ABD EL-GURNA

EGYPT

advisability of reconstructing papyrus cards,
leather of the covers, elements of sewing in
order to restore the original appearance of
the books. The more popular alternative is

to mount particular cards between glass or
plexi plates. A third possibility is making
a copy or reprint of the books, which are
then kept in museum storage.

STATE OF PRESERVATION AND INITIAL PROTECTION

The books as they were lifted from the
ground in 2005 appeared very impressive
at first sight, but they could not be opened
because of the damages and degradation of
the papyrus and parchment on which they
were written. The first step, still in 2005,
was a provisional treatment of fragments of
the leather covers which were threatening
to crumble. Testing of cleaning procedures
for the leather covers was also undertaken.
One wooden cover was removed from the
parchment block and an attempt was made
to prize apart the first parchment card
from the block (Gorecki 2007: Fig. 9). All
three books were placed for protection in
separate cardboard boxes with tissue
separators and stored in waiting for
transport to a conservation lab.

Secondary degradation due to fluctu-
ating temperatures and humidity levels
occurred even while the books remained in
storage in the desert conditions of Gurna-
Luxor, waiting for the conservation project
to begin. Unavoidable contact with
polluted air also opened the papyrus and
parchment material to further degradation
caused by chlorides, sulfides, ozone, and
photochemical smog, increasing the threat
of mold.
The facilities of the National Museum
in Alexandria offered the necessary
equipment and proper round-the-clock
climatic conditions (60% Rh, c. 17°C)
meeting the standards required for
conservation treatment of papyrus and
parchment.

PARCHMENT CODEX (BOOK OF ISAIAH)

The parchment codex held between two
leather-covered boards turned out to be
a destruct. One part consisted of a wooden
board and adhering parchment block. The
other, smaller board retained parts of the
back and one card adhering to it. Both
boards were distorted, the sides arched and
curling up. The block adhered to the inner,
convex side of one board, the single card to
the concave, inner side of the other board.
The block had melted parchment
(resulting from high temperatures)
covering it unevenly on all sides {Fig. 1].
This hard, black, shiny mass turned the
codex into a uniform solid, making the
edges of cards stick and penetrating inside

in places. It also made the block adhere to
the wood all over. Because of it, the exact
number of cards could not be determined.
After being documented in writing and
photography, the block was separated by
mechanical means from the board. Tests
were made to choose the proper method for
separating cards. Moistening the entire
block from a distance was rejected as both
water and alcohol caused the melted
parchment to gelatinize. It was feared that
moistening the block would result in the
cards sticking even more, most probably
permanently.
Since the black parchment has been
proved to be an amorphous collagen mass

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