The 400-year-old parchment, yellowed with age, is tough and flexible between my fingers.<br /><br />“This is infinitely stronger than the paper we write on today, which just disintegrates with age,” explains archivist Pete Evans as he holds the leather-bound book – containing Sheffield baptism records from the 17th century – in his hands.<br /><br />“Digital records are also quite fragile, in reality, so parchment is hands-down the best medium for recording information; it works, it survives thousands of years - it will outlive us all!”<br /><br />As Pete slides the book back onto the shelf, I glance down the corridor, lined on either side by large metal bookcases; row after row, Sheffield City Archives stretches ahead – millions of documents, photos, audio cassettes, and maps dating back nearly 1,000 years, all stored under one roof.<br /><br />It’s a history-buff’s heaven, and I can see how somebody could lose themselves for several days in here, digging through the treasure trove that has been accrued in the city over the last century.
