Documents at risk from handling and storage
Characterisation of materials
What is the life expectancy of selected archival materials?
In order to understand the kinetics of decay of some materials commonly found in archives generally it is necessary first to describe or characterise the material fully.
Understanding the character of a materials and the nature of their decay is central to defining the steps necessary to mitigate them. Given the nature of The National Archives holdings, we are currently supporting studies to characterise parchment records and soon plan further investigations of plastic-based records.
Projects
Collaborative PhDs
Cardiff University Biophysics Group, with support from The National Archives for Scotland and The National Archives UK
Assessment of the degradation of historical parchment by biochemical and spectroscopic methods
Project aims:
- Provide a method of analysis to assess the degradation of historical parchment
- Characterise the lipid profile of parchment with particular emphasis on fatty acid content
- Understand the relationship of fatty acid content with location and collagen integrity
The effect of hydration and relative humidity on the molecular an mesoscopic structure of parchment
Project aims:
- Obtain a more detailed understanding of how the dynamic of water and collagen interacts
- Understand the damage caused to historical parchments by relative humidity misuse particularly during conservation treatments
