I wanted to find a way to share this incredibly unique item with the public, the scroll is very well-preserved thanks to the work of the Library's conservators, but it is still incredibly fragile.

Jonathan Loar

Categorized in : Travel

One reason is that Gandharan scrolls, like the one at the Library of Congress, were typically buried in terra cotta jars and interred in a stupa, a dome-shaped structure often containing Buddhist texts or relics, another reason is that the relatively high, arid climate of the Gandharan region helps preserve materials like manuscripts on birch bark.

travel