In this paper I will discuss some of the issues relating to the digitization of manuscript rolls, focusing on a fifteenth-century genealogical roll produced during the Wars of the Roses currently held at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch in New Zealand, the Canterbury Roll. A collaboration between scholars at UC and Nottingham Trent University in the UK, the current project provides a test case for exploring the challenges of representing these large, complex, and delicate material objects in digital form. As the project moves into a new phase, we are exploring new ways to incorporate, compare and contrast more rolls, adding layers of historical interpretation, network analysis, and heritage science data. I will discuss how we might combine three research streams – History, Heritage Science, and Digital Humanities – to better understand the impetus and processes behind the construction of genealogical rolls as well as the establishment of their wider socio-cultural and political importance.