It is remarkable that many of the ancient Christian and Gnostic writings have survived centuries of assault from weather (temperature fluctuations and humidity), mishandling, and deterioration from exposure to insects, mildew, and rot. A few survived in decent shape and relative completeness while others exist in only fragments. Scholars have reconstructed some texts using a variety of methods, including sorting and reassembling fragments, making educated guesses about missing words, and cross-referencing against other copies or translations. Their monumental efforts have contributed greatly to the scholarship on early Christianity.