St Catherine’s Library Conservation Project

Since 2005 staff from the Preservation and Conservation Department have participated in this project under the direction of Professor Nicholas Pickwoad.

St Catherine’s Monastery is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery, with a history of over seventeen centuries. The Greek Orthodox monastery is located at the base of Mount Sinai, Egypt, at the site of the Burning Bush, and has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The collection of 3,300 manuscripts in the library is considered to be the oldest and most important Christian collection, and includes twelve pages and fragments of the fourth century Codex Sinaiticus. The library holds 8,000 early printed books including important editions of the Holy Scriptures, and patristic and classical texts. Many of the volumes have notations showing that they were used, over the centuries, by the monks in their studies.

In 1999, a programme to protect St Catherine’s most vulnerable manuscripts was initiated. A Condition Assessment Survey of the Bound Manuscript collection was undertaken between November 2001 - March 2006, followed by a survey of the Printed Books between May 2007 - November 2007. The results of have provided a detailed picture of the condition of the collections, against which any further deterioration can be measured, and from which conservation treatments will be prioritised.

At present activities at the monastery are focussed on the library building which will be renovated to provide conservation workshops and digital photography studios, improved storage, as well as reading space for visiting scholars.

In May 2009 the packing-up of 11,000 bound items commenced in advance of the building work.

Key to the security of the project was the use of a barcode system and handheld scanners to track the books as they are cleaned, wrapped and crated, and finally placed into storage rooms.

More information can be found at the Ligatus (Research Unit of the University of the Arts, London), Mount Sinai Monastery, and St Catherine Foundation Charity pages.