Laser cleaning of parchment is a novel technique that has the potential to provide contactless, chemical-free cleaning of historically important documents. However, the effect of laser cleaning on the collagenous structure of parchment is still poorly understood, as is the effect of the wavelength or the energy density (fluence level) used to clean parchment. In this study, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), shrinkage temperature (Ts) measurements by the micro hot table technique and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SIDS-PAGE) of parchment samples after laser cleaning reveal the effect of cleaning to the structural, thermal and molecular characteristics of parchment, respectively. The effect of cleaning at infrared (1064 nm), green (532 nm) and ultraviolet (266 nm) wavelengths at a range of fluence levels is investigated. SAXS is used to investigate the removal of dirt from parchment. Laser cleaning at IR or green wavelengths appears not to alter the collagen diffraction pattern from SAXS, the shrinkage activity or shrinkage temperature from Ts measurements or the molecular integrity of parchment as shown by SDS-PAGE. However, parchments cleaned at the ultraviolet wavelength display structural damage and a reduction in hydrothermal stability and molecular integrity. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.