Material characterization of historical parchment using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

In this study we discuss the influence of the state of degradation, the three-dimensional fibrous structure and the presence of calcium compounds on terahertz absorption properties of historic parchment in the interval 45-85 cm-1, based on the analysis of 32 archival parchment samples, with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in transmission mode, optical microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode.