Open Access

Near-inframed reflectography and imaging X-Ray flourescence analysis reveal that carbon inks of two different compositions were used in the papyrus manuscript Berlin P 11702. in contrast with the writing ink, one of the carbon drawing inks contained a significant addition of iron. This result emphasises the need for routine instrumental ink analysis.

The International Qumran project conducted at the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in 2007–10 aimed at establishing an optimal methodology for an accurate characterization of the Dead Sea Scrolls to address such questions as archaeological provenance, origin, and attribution of fragments to a specific sheet (Rabin 2013). Using equipment of various degrees of complexity we have shown that part of the historic information stored in the material can be revealed by proper characterization of the material. The on-site investigation of the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments from The Schøyen Collection in October 2012 offered the first chance to test this methodology in a field study. For the first time, we used mobile and non-invasive technology exclusively, since we could not transport all of our laboratory equipment to Norway for this project. Moreover, besides the technical limitations dictated by the available equipment, we had to cope with limited time: it was impossible to perform the number of scans required for optimal characterization of over 30 fragments within the fourteen days available. Nevertheless this study presents an important step in the material analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls, since the devices we used are easily transportable, well known, and easily accessible throughout the world.