††Parchment, made from treated animal skin, was used as a writing surface before paper was invented, It was developed in Pergamum (now part of Turkey) around the year 250 BC, but it failed to become a popular alternative to papyrus for another 500 years.
To make parchment a goat or sheep's skin was first soaked in lime to remove the grease, before being washed and pegged out in the sun to dry. It was then scraped and smoothed to produce the final article. Although a laborious process, it produced a good surface.
