Abstract
A study was made of ultrastructure of parchments dating back as far as the XI-XIX centuries (of different degree of preservation) comparatively to parchment manufactured today. It was shown that parchment consists of densely packed bundles of collagenous fibrils with characteristic periods and subperiods. Fibrils are bound with amorphous interfibrillar (apparently protein) material also containing ruteniophilic compounds. In visually changed parchment samples, there were two types of alterations: formation of cracks between the bundles of fibrils and disintegration of fibrils as a result of vital activity of microorganisms. Formation of the cracks appears to favour the penetration of microorganisms into the thickness of parchment thereby contributing to its destruction.
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