scrolls

Scrolls are long, rolled manuscripts used to record text or images on durable materials such as papyrus, parchment, or vellum. They were a dominant format for writing in many ancient and medieval cultures before the rise of the codex, and they remain an important symbol of antiquity and scholarly transmission. A scroll typically consists of a continuous sheet or a sequence of sheets rolled around a rod or stored in a cylindrical container; reading involves unrolling the material to reveal sections of text in sequence.

Materials and regional variations shaped scroll formats. Papyrus was common in ancient Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, while parchment and vellum—made from animal skins—were favored in Europe and the Near East for their greater durability. Scrolls served a variety of purposes, including literary works, religious scriptures, legal documents, and administrative records. In Judaism, Torah scrolls are handwritten on parchment and housed in special cabinets. In East Asia, handscrolls and emaki are read by unrolling them horizontally, from right to left, offering a different aesthetic and reading experience from Western scrolls.

Preservation and decline. Scrolls are sensitive to humidity, temperature, and pests; many survive only as fragments or through careful archaeological recovery. The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most famous discoveries, yielding crucial insights into ancient Jewish law, literature, and linguistics. Over time, many cultures shifted to the codex (bound pages), which offered easier access, pagination, and durability for indexing large libraries.

In contemporary contexts, scrolls persist as cultural symbols and decorative artifacts. The term also appears in modern media, including the title of a 2014 video game by Mojang AB.