TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Parchment N2 - This lecture will present history of parchment based on written sources and chemical examination of antique, medieval and modern parchment. Our studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls writing surfaces show that they can be divided roughly into three groups: leather, parchments of a light tint, and those of various shades of brown. The latter ones are invariably tanned, whereas the middle group is characterized by the presence of various inorganic salts. Some of the pale parchments, among them the Temple Scroll (11Q19), are remarkably similar to medieval European parchment. Therefore we have formulated the working theory that in the Judaea of the Hellenistic period two different parchment-making traditions existed side by side: an ‘eastern’ one (represented by the tanned parchments of Qumran, closely resembling Aramaic documents from the fifth century BC, and a ‘western’ one (represented by the untanned/lightly tanned ones similar to early Christian Greek parchments). This division has found support during our studies of the Geniza fragments, in which Babylonian and Palestinian traditions seem to follow the “eastern” and “western” technologies, respectively. T2 - Manusciences 17 CY - Frejus, France DA - 10.09.2017 KW - Parchment KW - Leather PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43478 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Advanced codicology: including instrumental analysis into N2 - Investigation of physical properties and chemical composition of writing materials generates important data that we add to the results of the codicological analysis of the manuscripts. In its individual materiality, each manuscript is the result of a wide variety of influences. The “life” of a manuscript starts with its production that includes preparation of the writing surfaces and inks; it is followed by the use and storage, and finally characterized by treatment during restoration. Using instrumental analysis we record the characteristics that still exist. Combining our data with those obtained from the palaeographical and codicological analysis produces a new powerful tool for reconstruction of the history of a manuscript. T2 - Manuscripts East and West – Towards Comparative and General Codicology CY - Hamburg, Germany DA - 17.10.2017 KW - Ink KW - Hebrew manuscripts PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43479 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - The contribution of material analysis to the identification of forged writing materials N2 - This paper addresses the role of material analysis in the current discussion on the authenticity of unprovenanced fragments. It will show that material analysis alone, especially its non-destructive variety, cannot prove that the object is genuine. The best material analysis can do, after all appropriate tests have been conducted, is to announce that nothing has been found that contradicts the assumption of genuineness. Moreover, the results of the material analysis can never be used as the only justification of authentication in cases of composite objects such as manuscripts or epigraphs. The most effective approach for testing suspicious artifacts has been established by forensic science. Not limited to non-invasive analysis, this approach relies on validated techniques that usually require the extraction of samples and comparison with reference materials and are capable of delivering unambiguous results. In contrast, the analysis of suspicious manuscripts has to overcome additional obstacles such as the heterogeneity of historical material, the scarcity of suitable reference standards, and restriction to strictly non-invasive techniques. We discuss the reliability of the testing protocol based on the non-destructive multi-instrumental approach developed by the BAM for the investigation of writing materials. In the case of the DSS, it relies on comparison with the genuine DSS fragments studied over the last 10 years. T2 - SBL Interenational 2017 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 07.08.2017 KW - Cultural assets KW - Forgery PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43481 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Material analysis: authentication or forgery detection? N2 - This paper addresses the sensitive issue of authentication of the un-provenanced manuscripts of high monetary value if certified to be genuine. Over the last decade the popularity of material studies of manuscripts using non-destructive technologies (NDT) has increased enormously. In the case of suspicious writings these studies are held in especially high esteem due to the methodological rigor they are reputed to contribute to debate. Moreover, audiences from a humanities background often tend to disregard the technical details and treat any published interpretation of instrumental analysis as an objective finding. The paper will discuss the currently available methods and testing protocols for writing materials stressing the advantages and limitations of the non-invasive analysis. As an example we will consider the recent announcement of the possibility of non-invasive dating of carbon inks focusing on the validation required for a testing method. We will make clear that material analysis alone cannot prove that the object is genuine. We should rather adopt the effective approach for testing suspicious artifacts that has been established by the forensic science. Here, not the authentication, but the determination of the forgery stands in the focus of the work. T2 - SBL Annual Meeting 2017 CY - Boston, MA, USA DA - 18.11.2017 KW - Cultural assets KW - Forgery PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43483 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Hahn, Oliver ED - Hahn, Oliver ED - Breiding, Sonja ED - Doil, Thorsten T1 - Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse als bildgebendes Verfahren - Die Visualisierung von Materialität N2 - Naturwissenschaftliche Verfahren sind inzwischen fester Bestandteil bei der materialwissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Kunst- und Kulturgut und bei der Entwicklung von Konservierungskonzepten zum Erhalt des kulturellen Erbes. Insbesondere werden zunehmend bildgebenden Verfahren wie die Computertomographie, die Radiographie oder die Multispektralanalyse verwendet, um die für das menschliche Auge nicht sichtbare Inhalte wie Vorzeichnungen, Pentimenti oder innere Strukturen zu visualisieren. Die entstehenden „neuen Bilder“ verändern jedoch die Sichtweise auf das kulturelle Artefakt, da sie tiefere Einblicke in den Herstellungsprozess, den Aufbau oder den Erhaltungszustand geben können. Weiterhin dokumentieren sie Veränderungen, denen ein Objekt unterworfen wurde. Anhand der Untersuchung von zwei Objekten mit dem Röntgenfluoreszenzportalscanner Jet Stream soll das Verhältnis Original – Digitalisat – Rekonstruktion diskutiert werden. T2 - 8. N.i.Ke.-Workshop: Materialität - Das Objektverständnis der vielfältigen Disziplinen im Bereich von Kunst- und Kulturgut CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 26.11.2015 KW - Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse KW - Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung KW - Archäometrie PY - 2017 SN - 2567-1251 SP - 68 EP - 73 PB - Druckerei G. Bohm CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-43484 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Instrumental studies of writing inks: from typology to composition N2 - The course presents panorama of historic writing inks, their use the methods of their identification. First, we discuss the possible types of the inks and show how one can determine these types using very simple instrumentation. The change of the inks from those based on soot to the iron-gall inks commonly used in the Middle Age constitutes the second half of the course. T2 - Workshop CY - Buenos Aires, Argentina DA - 23.03.2017 KW - Ink KW - Carbon ink KW - Iron-gall ink PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43445 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Material studies of inks N2 - The course presents panorama of historic writing inks, their use the methods of their identification. First, we discuss the possible types of the inks and show how one can determine these types using very simple instrumentation. The change of the inks from those based on soot to the iron-gall inks commonly used in the Middle Age constitutes the second half of the course. T2 - Summer School Hebrew Codicology and Palaeography Based on the Collection of the State and University Library Hamburg CY - Hamburg, Germany DA - 07.09.2017 KW - Iron-gall ink KW - Carbon ink KW - Mixed ink PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43448 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Hahn, Oliver T1 - Material analysis of manuscripts: methodological introduction N2 - Natural sciences play auxiliary role in the studies of manuscripts. The success of their contribution depends strongly on the formulation of the question and the choice of the methods to obtain the requested answer. Therefore, one should try to go beyond the understanding of the basic principles of the scientific analysis. We will start with a glance at the basic principles of the techniques used in the material science for determination of the elemental composition (X-ray emission) and molecular composition (FTIR & Raman). We will move then to the bench and mobile equipment commonly used in the field of cultural heritage. At the end we will choose a question to be answered and design an ideal experiment that will be modified according to the limitations dictated by on-site conditions. T2 - ManuSciences 17 CY - Fréjus, France DA - 10.09.2017 KW - Mobile instrumentation KW - Manuscripts PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43451 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Unveiling secrets of the Dead Sea scrolls N2 - The first manuscripts from the Qumran caves were found in 1947. Within the following 10 years, clandestine and legal excavations revealed some 900 highly fragmented manuscripts from the late Second Temple period. This collection is generally known as Scrolls of the Judea Desert or Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). For many years after their discovery, text analysis and fragments attribution were the main concern of the scholars dealing with the scrolls. The uncertain archaeological provenance of the larger part of the collection added an additional difficulty to the formidable task of sorting some 19000 fragments. After 60 years of scholar research the questions of origin, archaeological provenance and correct attribution of the fragments are still hotly debated. In many cases material characterization of the scroll writing media deliver answers to the questions stated above. Furthermore, issues concerning corrosion pathways, ancient technologies and contemporary conservation activities demand in depth material studies. To obtain a comprehensive picture we use optical and electron microscopy, various X-ray based techniques as well as vibrational spectroscopy. We validated our approach with SY- based studies using the advantages of the synchrotron radiation source with respect to the bench-top devices. Our laboratory studies showed that often production and storage locality could be distinguished thanks to the specific residues (“fingerprint”) they left on the material. Moreover, we have discovered that different parchment production processes coexisted in the antiquity, and the resulting writing materials can readily be distinguished. Within our recent studies we tentatively reconstructed the history of the Genesis Apocryphon. Written with a corrosive ink on a tanned parchment, it was found rolled together with an additional layer of non-inscribed non-tanned parchment. Chemical composition of the ink is in agreement with a 1st century AD ink recipe recorded in Materia Medica by a Greek physician, Pedanius Dioscorides. Study of the scroll deterioration as a function of time and exposition to light during the post-discovery period allows us to speculate that the scroll was rather “archived” than hidden in Cave 1. These results confirm the theory of Eliezer Sukenik who believed Cave 1 to be a “geniza”. A similar study of the Temple Scroll, discovered in the cave 11 indicates that the scroll was rather hidden than “archived”. T2 - 2nd International Conference on Patristic Studies CY - San Juan, Argentina DA - 28.03.2017 KW - Dead Sea scrolls PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43442 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Characterization of the Dead Sea Scrolls by advanced analytical techniques. N2 - For many years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, text analysis and fragment attribution were the main concern of the scholars dealing with them. The uncertain archaeological provenance of a large part of the collection added difficulties to the already formidable task of sorting thousands of fragments. After 60 years of scholarly research the questions of origin, archaeological provenance and correct attribution of the fragments are still debated. To help address these questions we have developed a methodology suitable to the material studies of the scrolls using combinations of X-ray, FTIR and Raman techniques. On the one hand, an accurate characterization of the highly heterogeneous writing media of the Dead Sea Scrolls leads to a reliable reconstruction of their history and, thus, contributes significantly to the current debate. On the other hand, it provides new information on the production of ancient parchment towards the end of the Second Temple period, opening a new page in the historical study of technology. T2 - Civil and Environmental Engineering Special Seminar CY - Cambridge, UK DA - 17.11.2017 KW - Dead Sea Scrolls PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43557 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -