Traditional and Recent Methods Used in the Cleaning of Ancient Manuscripts Spots: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Manuscripts are exposed to many destructive environmental factors such as air pollution, spores of fungi and insects. These factors interact with components of manuscript, causing various aspects of damage such as chemical and biological color stains, especially fungal stains which present on the pages of manuscript. The use of organic solvents to remove fungal stains causes damage of components of manuscripts beside their toxicity, so we study removing fungal spots by laser beam to keep the cellulosic fiber strong, reduce the oxidation of paper and eliminate the fungus activity after treatment. Yag laser is the best types of lasers used in conservation due to the low cost, high efficiency, and the possibility of linking this technology to computer and complete the necessary knowledge of the data. To evaluate the use of laser in the removal fungal stains. I follow the experimental studies on paper samples made of various materials and growing some fungi that is harmful to manuscripts. A comparative study was carried out between chemical methods used in cleaning fungal stains, and cleaning by laser, in addition we studied their effects on the physical and chemical properties of paper. Various methods of examination were used such as a Scanning Electron Microscope and Stereo Microscope. Results were discussed with recommendation to use the laser in the cleaning of fungal stains from manuscripts.