Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (14)
- Sonstiges (4)
- Beitrag zu einem Sammelband (2)
- Beitrag zu einem Tagungsband (2)
- Buchkapitel (1)
- Vortrag (1)
Schlagworte
- Cultural heritage (24) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Eingeladener Vortrag
- nein (1)
The Dead Sea Scrolls belong to the most important cultural assets of mankind. Their long term preservation and study is a challenge that demands an interdisciplinary approach. As early as the 1950s natural scientists assisted the scholars in studying the scrolls. It was at this time that the first extensive study of the scroll material took place. It was found that most fragments were written not on leather but on parchment. In addition, a method for determining the age of the parchment was developed which is still of value today. In the 1990s the AMS-C14 method confirmed the palaeographic determination of the age of the manuscripts. The use of carbon ink throughout the scrolls is also consistent with the known scribal practices of that time. There are, however, manuscripts, and among them the famous Genesis Apocryphon Scroll, which exhibit ink corrosion, normally associated with iron-gall inks.
Today, 60 years after their discovery, a community of scientists from the Jewish National and University Library (JNUL), the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and Fritz-Haber-Institute of the MPG (FHI) set out to scientifically investigate the finds of Qumran using the most modern methods. The results of the study will be used to determine the provenance of the texts as well as to contribute to their long-term preservation. A considerable part of the non-destructive investigation is taking place in the Berlin State Library and at the Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung , BESSY II.
Preliminary investigations, performed at the BAM on some fragments, were used to evaluate the extent to which X-ray analytical methods can provide information regarding the geographical origin of the fragments and match the individual pieces. The interpretation of the measurement results is made more difficult by age and storage of the objects. It is believed that ageing processes as well as conservation methods have altered the samples in addition to the changes caused by environmental influences.
In collaboration with the TU Berlin, the samples from the parchments found in the caves near Qumran were tested by means of three-dimensional synchrotron based X-ray fluorescence analysis (3D-SyXRF). The aim of this non-destructive investigation was the identification of the inorganic material used in the manufacture of the parchments.
The XRF experiments are supported by the non-destructive analysis by means of synchrotron based infrared spectroscopy (SyFTIR) in collaboration with BESSY II as well as optical and electron microscopy in collaboration with Fritz-Haber-Institute (FHI).
The present study comprises the characterisation of museum show cases concerning their hazardous potential for
art objects. In order to estimate potential risks of damage the emission of volatile organic compounds coming from
several construction materials is monitored and different air exchange rates from exhibit cases are determined. For
the determination of the VOCs different methods were applied. The first step is a direct thermal extraction of the
materials followed by emission test chamber measurements. The tracer gas method with N2O that is used in this study is a convenient procedure to investigate air exchange rates under working conditions greater than 0.05 d-1. The results of this study confirm the importance of the careful choice concerning building materials for show cases. Furthermore the analyses clarify that certain organic compounds might be a problem for the exhibits in show cases with low air exchange rates.
The Erfurt Hebrew Giant Bible and the Experimental XRF Analysis of Ink and Plummet Composition
(2007)
We studied the oxidation and migration processes of inorganic compounds in iron gall inks with a combination of micro X-ray fluorescence analysis (micro-XRF) and micro X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (micro-XANES). With elemental mapping by micro-XRF, the correlation of the minor elements in the ink to the major element Fe was investigated. Along concentration profiles of Fe, micro-XANES measurements were carried out in order to determine the oxidation state and the local environment. With the help of model inks, we could show that Cu is a further important element in the paper degradation process due to iron gall ink corrosion.
3D Micro X-ray fluorescence analysis was used for the investigation of reverse-glass paintings. The material-specific combination used in reverse-glass paintings leads to damage phenomena reinforced by glass corrosion. To elucidate the mechanism of corrosion processes taking place in the glass object depth profiles of mobile elements are of interest. In order to obtain elemental depth profiles of such kind of fragile objects the method of choice should be non-destructive. Our first results demonstrate the usefulness of the 3D Micro-XRF measurements for this kind of investigations. The assumption that certain binding media may initiate corrosion processes beginning at the interface glass/binding material could be confirmed.
In this work, the applicability of a new 3D micro X-ray fluorescence (3D Micro-XRF) laboratory spectrometer for the investigation of historical glass objects is demonstrated. The non-destructiveness of the technique and the possibility to measure three-dimensionally resolved fluorescence renders this technique into a suitable tool for the analysis of cultural heritage objects. Although absorption and resolution effects complicate qualitative analysis of the data, layered structures can be distinguished from homogeneous samples without the need for full quantification. Different manufacturing techniques were studied in this work with the help of hand-made reference samples. With the gained knowledge it could be shown for the investigated historical glass object, that black enamel as a stained glass contour colour was used in a cold painting. The object was not fired after the application of the black enamel, but instead the adhesion of the paint was solely provided through organic binding agents and the backing with metal foils. Thus, for the manufacturing of the object, a mixture of cold painting technique with a stained glass color was used. Quantitative measurements with a 3D Micro-XRF setup at the Berlin synchrotron BESSY II confirm the assumptions drawn on the basis of the qualitative investigation with the 3D Micro-XRF spectrometer with X-ray tube excitation.