Universität Hamburg - der Forschung, der Lehre, der Bildung, zur Homepage
Safeguarding the Manuscripts of Timbuktu
SafeguardingThe Manuscripts
of Timbuktu

Photo: CSMC

Conservation

Conservation

The primary aim of modern-day manu­script conservators is to halt further deterioration of objects and prolong their life, rather than to recreate how they might have looked in the past. This aim defines the approaches applied to the conservation of the Timbuktu manuscripts by the German CSMC project.

The main conservation procedures are as follows:

  • Surface cleaning of paper and leather folders. This is necessary to remove damaging substances. Surface cleaning is done mainly with soft brushes and special vulcanised rubber dry-cleaning sponges.
  • Repairing tears and breaks in paper. This procedure prevents tears from lengthening and helps to keep fragments of a page together. Mending is performed using very lightweight translucent Japanese paper made of kozo, mitsumata, or gampi fibres. The repair paper is glued to the damaged area with a specially prepared methylcellu­lose based adhesive.
  • Removing accretions. Mould and insect residues are professionally removed with scalpels, flattened needle awls and aspirators.
  • Storing manuscripts in acid-free boxes. After cleaning, repairing and removing harmful acidic packaging, each manu­script must be stored in a special container such as a folder or a box made of alpha-cellulose. This material has particularly high ageing resistance, stability and load-bearing capacity as well as a low net weight. Use of non-acidic containers should be combined with application of alkaline buffers (such as cal­cium carbonate) for neutralising the acids in the paper.
  • Stabilising maintenance of the archive. Shelves and boxes must be regularly cleaned to prevent insect infestation and the accumulation of other dirt; the optimal humidity level must be maintained to prevent mould activity.

These procedures constitute part of an overall homogeneous strategy of conservation. Various techniques of conservation are currently being introduced to the Malian staff at the archive in Bamako through workshops and training courses led by Eva Brozowsky as part of the German CSMC project. During the conservation stage it is possible to carry out basic analysis and description of paper, ink and leather folders. Such preliminary assessment of the material will assist further, more detailed analysis of the manuscripts.