Preserving the Past Through Papyrus Conservation

An international cohort of conservation students attended the University of Michigan’s 2026 Papyrus Conservation Summer Seminar. Working alongside U-M conservators and papyrologists, participants preserved more than 150 papyrus fragments, including manuscripts that had not been opened, flattened or read in nearly 2,000 years.

The seminar combined hands-on conservation with scholarly expertise, making ancient texts accessible for new research and discovery.