TY - CHAP A1 - Colini, Claudia A1 - Shevchuk, I. A1 - Huskin, K. A. A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Hahn, Oliver ED - Quenzer, J. B. T1 - A New Standard Protocol for Identification of Writing Media N2 - Our standard protocol for the characterisation of writing materials within advanced manuscript studies has been successfully used to investigate manuscripts written with a pure ink on a homogeneous writing surface. However, this protocol is inadequate for analysing documents penned in mixed inks. We present here the advantages and limitations of the improved version of the protocol, which now includes imaging further into the infrared region (1100−1700 nm). KW - Archaeometry KW - Manuscripts KW - Non-destructive testing PY - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543454 SN - 978-3-11-074545-0 VL - 25 SP - 161 EP - 182 PB - Walter de Gruyter GmbH CY - Berlin/Boston AN - OPUS4-54345 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ghigo, Tea A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Gaining Perspective into the Materiality of Manuscripts: The Contribution of Archaeometry to the Study of the Inks of the White Monastery Codices N2 - An interdisciplinary approach to the study of manuscript traditions is here applied to the analysis of the leaves from the White Monastery, one of the greatest centres of literary production in Late Antique Egypt. In the framework of the ‘PAThs’ project, archaeometric analyses complement the information pieced together by a range of disciplines in the field of humanities. The use of different complementary analytical techniques provides information on the type of ink used and its elemental composition, unveiling interesting details regarding the materials and methodology of manufacturing of writing media. Moreover, this contribution takes a step forward and discusses the possible existence of a regional arrangement in the elemental composition revealed in the inks studied. KW - Manuscript making KW - Archaeometry KW - Ink analysis KW - Interdisciplinary approach KW - Coptic studies PY - 2020 SP - 273 EP - 282 AN - OPUS4-51003 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ghigo, Tea A1 - Rabin, Ira ED - Buzi, P. T1 - Detecting Early Medieval Coptic literature in Dayr Al-Anba Maqar, Between textual conservation and literary rearrangement: The case of Vat. Copt. 57 N2 - The study of the VAt.Copt. 57 at the Vatican Library. Codicological, palaeographical, textual and archaeometrical considerations. KW - Coptic KW - Archaeometry KW - Ink KW - Manuscripts PY - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-494004 SN - 978-88-210-1025-5 SP - 77 EP - 83 PB - Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana AN - OPUS4-49400 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Hahn, Oliver ED - Michel, C. ED - Friedrich, M. T1 - Detection of Fakes: The Merits and Limits of Non-Invasive Materials Analysis N2 - This paper addresses the sensitive issue of authenticating unprovenanced manuscripts of high monetary value to certify they are genuine. Over the last decade, the popularity of material studies of manuscripts using non-destructive testing (NDT) has increased enormously. These studies are held in especially high esteem in the case of suspicious writings due to the methodological rigour they are reputed to contribute to debate. We would like to stress that materials analysis alone cannot prove that an object is genuine. Unfortunately, audiences with a humanities background often tend to disregard the technical details and treat any published interpretation of instrumental analysis as an objective finding. Four examples are outlined here to illustrate what questionable contributions the natural sciences can make in describing manuscripts that have actually been forged. KW - Fakes KW - Non-invasive analysis KW - Limitations PY - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517202 SN - 978-3-11-071422-7 SN - 2365-9696 VL - 20 SP - 281 EP - 290 PB - Walter de Gruyter GmbH CY - Berlin/Boston AN - OPUS4-51720 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Rimon, Hasia A1 - Rabin, Ira ED - Fuller, R.E. ED - Lange, A. T1 - Conservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls N2 - The current state of preservation of the DSS results from the synergetic effect of various factors such as great age, post-discovery treatments, poor storage conditions, environmental influences and exhibitions. With rare exceptions, neither the initial state nor a list of the treatments performed on each DSS fragment is known. Reconstruction of the individual fragment history will have to rely upon advanced analytical techniques to identify the treatments and their effects. Management of the scrolls may be divided roughly into three periods: a) the scholarly archiving period, from 1948 to the mid-1960s; b) first attempts at conservation, from the mid-1960s to late-1980s; c) Israel Antiquities Authority Scrolls Lab, from 1991 onwards. KW - Preservation KW - Dead Sea Scrolls PY - 2023 SN - 2468-3027 VL - 3D SP - 102 EP - 105 PB - Brill CY - Leiden / Boston AN - OPUS4-58910 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Rabin, Ira ED - Russel, R.E. ED - Lange, A. T1 - Non-invasive Analytic Tools in Studies of Manuscripts N2 - Physico-chemical analyses of writing materials offer insight into various questions associated with historical, cultural, and conservational aspects of manuscript studies. The catalogue of questions that can be addressed with these methods includes authenticity, dating, the attribution of various parts of the text to different scribes and the relation between the primary and secondary texts. Similarly, preservation of the manuscripts requires knowledge of the composition of the original materials versus old repairs, identification of damage, as well as recognition of natural aging and degradation processes. The material sciences can contribute data about the chemical compositions of the writing materials, elucidation of the techniques of their production and the absolute age of organic components, as well as characterization of corrosion effects, evaluation of conservation treatment, and monitoring of the preservation state. KW - Material Analysis KW - Manuscripts PY - 2023 SN - 2468-3027 VL - 3D SP - 114 EP - 116 PB - Brill CY - Leiden / Boston AN - OPUS4-58912 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Rabin, Ira ED - Russel, R.E. ED - Lange, A. T1 - Ancient Inks N2 - In the last decade scientists and scholars have accumulated more knowledge on black ink used for writing in Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Ready availability of non-destructive testing instruments employed in interdisciplinary projects on historic manuscripts have made it possible to determine the composition of ink and to compare it with the extant records. KW - Writing Ink KW - Antiquity PY - 2023 SN - 2468-3027 VL - 3D SP - 117 EP - 120 PB - Brill CY - Leiden / Boston AN - OPUS4-58913 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Caldararo, N. A1 - Rimon, H. ED - Russel, R.E. ED - Lange, A. T1 - The Role of DNA Analysis in the Study of the Biblical Manuscripts N2 - Interest in the type of skin used in scriptural materials and preparation methods increased from the nineteenth into the twentieth century. This was due partly to the number of newly discovered fragments and to the invention of new instruments and scientific procedures to identify animal skins and produce qualitative means to demonstrate specific preparation reagents and techniques. The invention of various means of analyzing the DNA of organic materials brought about a revolution in archaeology and in conservation. Difficulties in overcoming contamination of archaeological samples resulted in a number of controversies but also produced advances and improvement in the techniques of ancient DNA analysis and interpretation of results. KW - DNA KW - Dead Sea Scrolls KW - Parchment PY - 2023 SN - 2468-3027 VL - 3D SP - 120 EP - 123 PB - Brill CY - Leiden / Boston AN - OPUS4-58914 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -