XRF ink analysis of selected fragments from the Herculaneum collection
- Hundreds of papyrus rolls, carbonized during the 79CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius, were discovered in 1754 at Herculaneum. Sophisticated mechanical methods for unrolling the best-preserved scrolls have been applied, with varying success. However, such processes have been abandoned, to prevent risk from irremediable damage or loss and to preserve the integrity of the extremely fragile rolls. Following the development of X-ray based non-invasive techniques, attempts to virtually unroll the scrolls were made. The most common ink in Antiquity was carbon-based, and the main element of carbonized papyrus is carbon, making these investigations difficult. However, some attempts with synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) were successful. Recently, the identification of antique inks containing metals raised hope that if some of the inks contain metal the rolls can be virtually unrolled using conventional CT- technique. We are presenting here the first results of a preliminaryHundreds of papyrus rolls, carbonized during the 79CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius, were discovered in 1754 at Herculaneum. Sophisticated mechanical methods for unrolling the best-preserved scrolls have been applied, with varying success. However, such processes have been abandoned, to prevent risk from irremediable damage or loss and to preserve the integrity of the extremely fragile rolls. Following the development of X-ray based non-invasive techniques, attempts to virtually unroll the scrolls were made. The most common ink in Antiquity was carbon-based, and the main element of carbonized papyrus is carbon, making these investigations difficult. However, some attempts with synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) were successful. Recently, the identification of antique inks containing metals raised hope that if some of the inks contain metal the rolls can be virtually unrolled using conventional CT- technique. We are presenting here the first results of a preliminary analysis, which aimed at identifying scrolls whose ink contains metals.…
Autor*innen: | Olivier BonnerotORCiD |
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Koautor*innen: | G. Del Mastro, J. Hammerstaedt, V. Mocella, Ira Rabin |
Dokumenttyp: | Vortrag |
Veröffentlichungsform: | Präsentation |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2019 |
Organisationseinheit der BAM: | 4 Material und Umwelt |
4 Material und Umwelt / 4.5 Kunst- und Kulturgutanalyse | |
DDC-Klassifikation: | Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / Chemie / Analytische Chemie |
Freie Schlagwörter: | Herculaneum; Ink; Papyrus; Tomography; XRF |
Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM: | Chemie und Prozesstechnik |
Veranstaltung: | Konferenz: 29th International Congress of Papyrology |
Veranstaltungsort: | Lecce, Italy |
Beginndatum der Veranstaltung: | 28.07.2019 |
Enddatum der Veranstaltung: | 03.08.2019 |
Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments: | Datei im Netzwerk der BAM verfügbar ("Closed Access") |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 05.08.2019 |
Referierte Publikation: | Nein |
Eingeladener Vortrag: | Nein |