The Color Purple: Mystery of What Has Been Killing Ancient Parchments Solved
Hoping to help save ancient documents, including at the Vatican, scientists discover what has been eating parchments going back millennia.
Ruth Schuster Sep 07, 2017 4:00 PM
Purple spots damaging the scroll of ex-soldier Laurentius Loricatus the Blessed, dating to 1244 C.E. Photo shows how the calligraphic writing, presumably in Latin, disappears as the mysterious spots "ate" the parchment.
Ancient parchments are rare, precious and delicate, and it turns out they require protection not only from antiquities looters but from turning purple, then falling apart.
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http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.811076
