Patience and painstaking work indeed.
I collect old documents. One of the items that I have is an unopened Coptic scroll from Ethiopia. It probably dates from somewhere between the 1400’s and the 1800’s—most likely toward the latter end of that period. Once I retire (which won’t be long) I intend to unroll it, perhaps using a similar technique that I once used in softening dried insects for mounting. Since it is papyrus, not silver, I’m hoping that a couple of months will be a sufficient amount of time. It could take more time, since I intend to sleep late once I retire.
I retired a year ago from a job where I arose at 4:15 for 43 years. Now I sleep in all the way until 6:00 (a.m.), whence my alarm summons me to another blessed day.