cleaning agent for ink removal

Ingredients

soda, Samian earth, Cimolian earth, cow’s milk, juice of mastic

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The recipe in P.Holm. § 12 (fol. γ, ll. 18–29) describes a process to produce a palimpsest by erasing existing text from papyrus (p. 10). Instructions: Take soda and dissolve it in water. Add 1 part powdered Samian earth, 1 part Cimolian earth, and cow's milk until the mixture becomes glutinous. Mix this with juice of mastic and dab the mixture onto the characters with a feather (p. 10). After letting it dry, peel the layer off. The treated surface (or the pearl, in its alternate application) will appear white. If the area remains yellow, the application should be repeated (p. 10).

Evidence

"This [recipe] cleans written papyrus again to such an extent that they appear as though they had never been written upon."

Remarks

This recipe is primarily grouped with those for whitening pearls but explicitly includes instructions for use on papyrus sheets to remove characters (p. 10). The author notes that such procedures for reusing written papyri were likely situated in ancient workshops specialized in book manufacture (p. 11).