Will 50 restorers be able to revive Egypt's huge and invaluable heritage of rare manuscripts? Reham El-Adawi visits the Restoration, Conservation and Microfilm Centre Until recently, restoration in Egypt was almost exclusively restricted to ancient Pharaonic, Graeco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic antiquities. Nowadays, people are coming to appreciate the value of another, more complicated type of restoration: that of words written on papyrus, vellum and other early types of "paper". This type of heritage has met with its own range of damage and infections, and consequently requires a very fine and special means of restoration. The Restoration, Conservation and Microfilm Centre (RCMC) was set up in 1974 to help deal with the nation's large number of rare manuscripts. It was founded by the curator of the Jewellery Museum in Alexandria, geologist Youssef Shawqi, and equipped by an Italian expert with the most updated scientific technology. The centre, affiliated with Dar Al-Kutob wa Al-Watha'iq Al-Qawmiya (The Books and National Manuscripts House), aims at restoring and treating books, manuscripts, papyri, microforms and historical coins damaged by pests, rodents and fungi. In 1997, the RCMC was totally revamped and equipped with the state-of-the-art technology in the field of restoring manuscripts. The centre was established according to a protocol signed between Egypt and Spain. The Egyptians were in charge of the infrastructure at the BNMH, premises which was mostly financed by the Cultural Development Fund. The Spanish provided the centre with the most updated equipment, installed by Spanish experts. Thus began the story of manuscript restoration in Egypt. According to statistics, the BNMH is estimated to be holding 1,500,000 books, periodicals, manuscripts, papyri, microforms and historical coins -- 60 per cent of all the collections owned by the Egyptian libraries. Rifaat Hilal, professor of chemistry at Cairo University and director of the RCMC, pointed out that the centre's mission was not only confined to restoring and treating the holdings of the BNMH but also to offering its technical advice in the field of library pest control and disinfection, manuscript and document restoration to universities, institutions and museums in Egypt as well as other Arab countries. "The centre has restored several masahif (Qur'an scriptures) and other historical documents for Morocco and Tunisia," Hilal said. The centre recently finished restoring documents related to Mohamed Ali Pasha's family at Abdin Palace's Library, the contents of the Museum of Fine Arts' Library in Alexandria, some rare manuscripts at Al-Azhar and 300 books at the library of the Journalists Syndicate. The centre's staff are currently busy restoring the library of the Suez Canal which holds documents going back to Ferdinand de Lesseps. Hilal said the centre included a number of specialised technical departments, and all restoration and conservation was conducted on a modern scientific basis. The restoration department comprised a disinfection unit with laboratories for extracting the gases required for disinfecting the collections damaged by fungi, bacteria and airborne germs. One department treats manuscripts and publications against age-caused damage, such as removal of stains, ink fixation, de- acidification etc. A pest control department with entomological and microbiological laboratories examines and treats damage caused by rodents, insects and fungi. Staff in the microfilm department are in charge of making microfilm copies of all precious acquisitions, while the originals are preserved. It comprises a camera room, a photocopying division and a photography studio. In the investigation department, chemical and natural measures are taken, and in the micro-organism and pests laboratories studies are conducted with a view to determining a precise diagnosis of the infection as well as the proper means and precautions required for protection and treatment. Nagwa Sayyed, a restorer, explained that there are two types of restoring manuscripts: manual and mechanical. The manual restoration starts with filling the holes caused by insects in the manuscript using a paper dyed with the same colour of the infected manuscript. In other cases this is done mechanically. The mechanical restoration section comprises a machine, the first of its kind in Egypt and the Middle East, used in regaining the mechanical properties of the document in order not to be easily cut or destroyed. According to Sawsan Ali, the centre's general supervisor, the centre is not only concerned with the restoration and treatment of damaged manuscripts but also their conservation and protection afterwards. One of the best methods to ensure a safe environment for the restored holdings is lessening humidity, protecting from dust resulting from the heavy traffic, controlling temperature and light and ensuring suitable air circulation throughout the storage area. This is in addition to regular microbiological and insectival degermination, usually carried out at the beginning of each season. Precautions were also adopted against fire, theft and natural disasters. Ali added that books were shelved according to size, thickness and type of cover. Hossameddin Abdel-Aal, a restoration researcher, listed the various stages of treatment undergone by infected manuscripts. After conducting a precise laboratory check and determining that a certain collection should be treated, the data of each manuscript must be written on a specific card. A chemical analysis is then conducted to determine whether the damage in the worn-out covers and polluted books is chemical, biological or merely arising from mishandling such as fingerprints and dust, which can be easily removed. He noted that in-depth damage of fibres is not treated easily. Afterwards, all these data are gradually redocumented. Converting the RCMC into a sophisticated national institute for manuscripts' restoration is a project waiting for daylight but still hindered by some obstacles. Hilal said that the man power of the centre could not cope with the number of rare manuscripts in the centres' possession. These include about 1 million documents and 55,000 manuscripts, and each of these may include at least 1,000 papers which will need more than 40 years of restoration. For instance, there is a huge collection of papyrus dating from the first century of the Hegira, as well as about 500 mus'haf such as a mus'haf from the era of Caliph Osman, that has been very cautiously restored. Unfortunately, the RCMC comprises only 50 restorers, most of them graduates from the faculties of science, agriculture, applied arts and antiquities. They have 30 years of experience in manuscripts restoration and learned in Austria, Germany and Spain. He said that, for instance, a group of restorers has recently received a specialised course in Spain in restoring Al-riq (vellum writing material)... one of the most difficult of all types to restore as it needs a very high level of efficiency In an attempt to overcome this shortage, the centre is now recruiting top graduates at the faculties of education art, antiquities and fine arts. It will also organise a two-month training course for new restorers, who will receive at its end a recognised certificate in restoring manuscripts. In order to raise the restoration standard in the centre, it contacts other foreign centres who have achieved a leap in this field. "A couple of days ago, we received a delegation from the Congress Library at the United States headed by the director of the manuscript restoration centre there to discuss the possibility of co-operating with the RCMC," Hilal said. Among the centre's future aspirations is a project in co- operation with the UNESCO to restore a collection of papyri dating back to the first and second Hegira centuries and preserve them on digital CDs. This is besides offering technical advice and training courses to restorers at the manuscripts restoration centre scheduled to be established at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
