Upon the desk was a pile of dusty parchments.
Up to comparatively recent times a priceless collection of classical manuscripts was preserved in the libraries; many of them were destroyed during the War of Greek Independence (1821-1829) by the Turks, who employed the parchments for the manufacture of cartridges; others fell a prey to the neglect or vandalism of the monks, who, it is said, used the material as bait in fishing; others have been sold to visitors, and a considerable number have been removed to Moscow and Paris.
These items came in various formats, with objects ranging from postcards to ancient parchments.