Parchment in the form of manuscripts, scrolls, charters, book covers and substrata for artworks, makes a major contribution to the most valuable objects of European cultural heritage. Large collections exist in varying degrees of preservation in public and private libraries, archives, museums and in diverse religious foundations. The degradation of parchment involves the decay of the intact fibre structure through different stages of alteration to a terminal stage when the fibre structure is close to complete disintegration. In contact with water or storage in moist conditions, the fibres...