Vito Mocella

The Herculaneum scrolls were burnt by a blast of furnace-like (c. 320?°C) gas from the volcano into a vastly homogenous sample matrix. In Antiquity, the most common writing material used for books and other documents was papyrus. The stalks of papyrus plants were cut into thin strips, then two strips were laid atop and perpendicular to one another; these strips were then combined by pressing them until the plant’s natural starch that acted as a paste.