Don’t you love to just curl up with a good book? Well, in ancient times, before printing was discovered, books were very different from what 
they are today. All books were in the form of manuscripts that were beautifully written and illustrated by hand. These books were mostly religious books, which were carefully written by monks in elaborate and sometimes decorative hand-writing. There were also practical books that were useful in everyday life, like books on herbs and there healing properties. The ink for these manuscripts books was made from lampblack mixed with gum. The colours for the drawings were obtained from ground up minerals and metals. The books were written on almost any kind of material…thin strips of tree bark and bamboo, silk, palm leaves, and of course paper and parchment. The books were often rolled into scrolls, or folded like a concertina, while palm leaves were strong together to form a book.The most expensive materials used for manuscript books were gold for decoration and fine parchment for writing. Did you know that sometimes a whole flock of sheep was needed for the parchment to write a book?
