TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Imaging micro-XRF in studies of manuscripts N2 - Availability of mobile XRF-equipment with an interaction spot of ca. 100 µm produced a revolution in the studies of manuscripts. A protocol for the use of line-scans introduced in the beginning of 2000 permitted large scale and extremely successful investigations of the medieval iron-gall inks. Here, we usually focus on a comparison of the characteristic metallic components in the inks. In our work, we encountered cases that could be adequately addressed only using large area imaging XRF. However, conducting an M6 scan on a bound manuscript or on a scroll of huge dimensions is not a simple and easy matter. In our presentation, we want to share our experience by presenting a series of the case studies, in which many an original solution was found. T2 - M6 JETSTREAM European User Meeting CY - London, GB DA - 03.04.2023 KW - Micro-XRF KW - Manuscripts KW - Imaging PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-61198 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Authentic vs. inauthentic Dead Sea Scrolls from the point of view of material analysis N2 - The paper seeks to illuminate the problem of identifying forgeries among the Dead Sea Scrolls from the point of view of material analysis. It will present the sum of our technical knowledge of the skin-based material of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which includes the original treatment of the skins and the resulting typology as well as degradation effects due to their sojourn in caves and post-discovery interventions. We will try then to list the characteristic properties that must be found in the authentic material. We will supplement the presentation with a short description of the relevant methods of material analysis and their contribution to the secure identification of inauthentic Dead Sea Scrolls. T2 - Annual Meeting of the Siciety of Biblical Literature CY - Denver, CO, USA DA - 19.11.2022 KW - Dear Sea Scrolls KW - Forgery PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-61196 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Material analysis - results N2 - The presentations describes the results obtained by material analysis of the writing materials. Their relevance in the field of digital editing and publishing is discussed. T2 - Communicating Revealed Texts: Best Practices for Born-Digital Editions Using Enhanced Imaging CY - Iowa City, IA, USA DA - 29.06.2024 KW - Writing materials KW - Manuscripts KW - Material analysis PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61202 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Advances in Characterization of Written Heritage N2 - The session discusses three brances of teh work on the manuscripts: ink analysis, parchment analysis by proteomics (Matthew Collins) and lipids (Mélanie Roffet-Salque); revealing of hidden text using AI. The example of Vesuvium Challenge is presented and discussed by Bren Seales. T2 - Scientific Methods in Cultural Heritage Research Gordon Research Conference CY - Vaud, Switzerland DA - 07.07.2024 KW - Written Heritage KW - Vesuvius challenge KW - Proteomics KW - Lipids PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61203 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Charakterisierung historischer Schreibtinten: optische Eigenschaften und elementare Zusammensetzung N2 - Unsere Forschung zielt in erster Linie darauf ab, eine soziogeografische Geschichte von Tinte, Pergament und Papyrus zu rekonstruieren, und umfasst die Materialanalyse der Schreibtinten der Schriftrollen vom Toten Meer, der antiken und hellenistischen Papyri in Ägypten, sowie der Koptischen und Europäischen Tinten des Mittelalters. Zu diesem Zweck haben wir ein Protokoll für die zerstörungsfreie Tintenanalyse entwickelt. Es besteht aus einem ersten Screening mit Hilfe der VIS/NIR Fotografie, um die Art der Tinte zu bestimmen, und der anschließenden Analyse mit der Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse (RFA). Letztere spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Identifizierung der Metalle in den Rußtuschen und der Bestimmung der charakteristischen Zusammensetzung metallhaltiger Tinten, um zwischen den verschiedenen Tinten zu unterscheiden. Der Vortrag bietet ein Panorama schwarzer historischer Schreibmittel und zeigt, dass die Materialanalyse einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Beantwortung vieler kulturhistorischen Fragen leisten kann. T2 - Eingeladener Vortrag bei GStA CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 10.11.2025 KW - Tinte KW - Tusche PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64783 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Black ink from antiquity to the Middle Ages N2 - Il nostro lavoro di ricerca al BAM si concentra sul passaggio dagli inchiostri a base di fuliggine, comuni nell'antichità, agli inchiostri ferro-gallici, comunemente usati nel Medioevo. Con l'obiettivo di creare una storia dettagliata degli inchiostri neri, abbiamo elaborato un protocollo non invasivo per raccogliere dati statisticamente rilevanti sugli inchiostri da manoscritti datati e localizzati che coprono un ampio arco temporale e diverse aree geografiche. Il primo passo del nostro protocollo consiste nella selezione effettuata mediante riflettografia NIR e IRR. Le differenze ottiche tra gli inchiostri a base di carbonio, tannino e ferro-gallio sono meglio riconoscibili confrontando la loro risposta alla luce infrarossa: l'inchiostro a base di carbonio ha un colore nero intenso, l'inchiostro ferro-gallico diventa trasparente al di sopra dei 1400 nm e l'inchiostro a base di tannino scompare a circa 750 nm. abbiamo semplificato l'analisi utilizzando un piccolo microscopio USB con LED NIR (940 nm) e UV (395 nm) integrati, oltre a una fonte di luce bianca esterna. Confrontando le immagini sotto illuminazione bianca e nel vicino infrarosso, determiniamo la tipologia di inchiostro osservando i cambiamenti nell'opacità dell'inchiostro. In questo caso, gli inchiostri a base di carbonio non mostrano alcuna variazione di opacità quando illuminati con lunghezza d'onda NIR, mentre l'opacità degli inchiostri ferro-gallici cambia notevolmente e gli inchiostri tanninici diventano trasparenti. La nostra recente scoperta che gli inchiostri misti carbonio/ferro-gallici erano piuttosto diffusi nella tarda antichità e nell'alto Medioevo ci ha suggerito di tornare al metodo IRR convenzionale. Il secondo passo del protocollo prevede l'analisi micro-XRF per identificare i componenti inorganici dell'inchiostro. Nel caso degli inchiostri ferro-gallici, stabiliamo le impronte digitali, ovvero i rapporti caratteristici tra i componenti vitriolici dell'inchiostro e l'elemento principale, ferro. T2 - 1° SEMINARIO di studi dottorali CY - Benevento, Italy DA - 06.10.2025 KW - Ink KW - Historic ink PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64773 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Ink Analysis of Relic Texts N2 - The presentation will show the multitude of black writing inks in use during the late Antiquity and early Middle Ages in Europa and the Near East and our attempt to follow up the transition of the inks from those based on soot to the iron-gall inks commonly used in the Middle Ages. Black writing inks in the period under consideration can be divided into three different classes: soot, tannin and iron-gall ink. The first one is a fine dispersion of carbon pigments in a water-soluble binding agent, the second one is a solution of plant extract from tree barks or gallnuts, while the third one contains both soluble and insoluble phases. This last ink is based on metal (iron) and is produced by a chemical reaction of soluble iron (II) with tannin in aqueous solution. Tracing the transition from writing inks based on carbon pigments (soot or charcoal), common in Antiquity to the iron-gall inks commonly used in the Middle Ages builds a focus of our investigative work at the BAM (Federal Institute of Material Analysis and Testing). In this context, we will discuss the results of the ink analysis obtained within the project “Crafting documents”. T2 - Heritage Science and Manuscripts from Antiquity and the Middle Ages CY - Oxford, United Kingdom DA - 13.11.2025 KW - Ink KW - Historic ink PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64772 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Material analysis of afghanistan liturgical quire (ALQ) conducted at the BAM N2 - The lecture presents the results of the detailed material analysis of the inks and of the parchment of the Afghanistan Liturgical Quire (ALQ), conducted at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -Prüfung (BAM) in Berlin. Testing was conducted using the following techniques: 3-color photography, 3D-digital microscopy, scanning μ-X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), μ- Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. I will give a short explanation of the principles of the techniques and explain the choice of the instruments. The main task of our work at the BAM required characterization of the inks and comparison of the ink as well as the composition of parchment. For the ink characterization we have followed the protocol developed at the BAM. The standard protocol includes three non-invasive stages: a) near infrared photography (NIRR) to determine the ink type or its main component; b) X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) to determine a fingerprint for iron-gall inks or contaminants in carbon/plant inks; c) Raman spectroscopy if there is an indication that the inks are of a mixed type. For parchment characterization, we usually employ µ-XRF-mapping and FTIR to gain information on specific treatments experienced by the parchment during its preparation and history. T2 - 19th World Congress of Jewish Studies CY - Jerusalem, Israel DA - 04.08.2025 KW - Hebrew Manuscripts KW - Parchment KW - Ink KW - XRF KW - NIR PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64776 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Studies of the black writing inks N2 - In recent years, the interest in the composition of the inks in papyri documents grew exponentially. Different types of inks were found in the period 4th century BCE to 7th century CE. The paper will demonstrate a simple protocol based on comparison of the ink transparency in the near infrared light and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The importance of including ink composition into new catalogues and possible formats of such data will be also presented and discussed. T2 - 31st International Congress of Papyrology CY - Cologne, Germany DA - 28.07.2025 KW - Ink KW - Historic ink KW - Papyrus PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64777 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - Inks in Early Medieval Manuscripts from Chelles: a Scientific Study N2 - The talk will start with the overview of the ink types and the methods of their characterisation. After displaying XRF spectra of different Carolingian inks the talk will discuss Chelles collection and the labels attributed to Chelles. We will concentrate then on the study of the Chelles manuscripts preserved in Cologne, Vatican and Paris. We will show that there is a good degree of coincidence between the inks of the Chelles manuscripts and the labels attributed to Chelles. We observe unusually early use of vitriolic ink north of the Alps. T2 - Leeds International Medieval Congress (IMC 2025) CY - Leeds, United Kingdom DA - 07.07.2025 KW - Ink KW - Historic ink PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64778 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -