ancient – Lightsources.org

Red and black ink from Egyptian papyri unveil ancient writing practices

2020/10/262020/10/29

Scientists led by the ESRF and the University of Copenhagen have discovered the composition of red and black inks in ancient Egyptian papyri from circa 100-200 AD, leading to different hypotheses about writing practices. The analysis shows that lead was probably used as a dryer rather than as a pigment, similar to its usage in 15th century Europe during the development of oil paintings. They publish their results today in PNAS.

The earliest examples of preserving human thought by applying ink on a flexible and durable material, papyrus, are found in ancient Egypt at the dawn of recorded history (c. 3200 BCE). Egyptians used black ink for writing the main body of text, while red ink was often used to highlight headings, instructions or keywords. During the last decade, many scientific studies have been conducted to elucidate the invention and history of ink in ancient Egypt and in the Mediterranean cultures, for instance ancient Greece and Rome.

Read more on The European Synchrotron website

Image: Detail of a medical treatise (inv. P. Carlsberg 930) from the Tebtunis temple library with headings marked in red ink. Credit: The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection and the ESRF.

Egyptian mummy bones explored with X-rays and infrared light

2019/11/122019/11/14

Researchers from Cairo University work with teams at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source to study soil and bone samples dating back 4,000 years.

Experiments at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are casting a new light on Egyptian soil and ancient mummified bone samples that could provide a richer understanding of daily life and environmental conditions thousands of years ago.
In a two-monthslong research effort that concluded in late August, two researchers from Cairo University in Egypt brought 32 bone samples and two soil samples to study using X-ray and infrared light-based techniques at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS). The ALS produces various wavelengths of bright light that can be used to explore the microscopic chemistry, structure, and other properties of samples.
Their visit was made possible by LAAAMP – the Lightsources for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Middle East Project – a grant-supported program that is intended to foster greater international scientific opportunity and collaboration for scientists working in that region of the globe.

Image: From left, Cairo University postdoctoral researcher Mohamed Kasem, ALS scientist Hans Bechtel, and Cairo University associate professor Ahmed Elnewishy study bone samples at the ALS using infrared light.
Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab

Prehistoric Iranian glass under synchrotron light

2018/01/242018/01/26

Scientists from University of Isfahan in Iran have analysed in the ALBA Synchrotron how were made ancient Iranian glass objects that date back to 2.500 BC. These decorative glass pieces were excavated from the ziggurat of Chogha-Zanbil, a type of stepped pyramidal monument, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Ziggurats, the most distinct architectural feature of the Mesopotamian, are a type of massive stone structure built thousand years ago as a temple where deities lived. Nevertheless, Chogha-Zanbil, near Susa (Iran), is one of the few existent ziggurats found outside the Mesopotamian area. During ancient times Chogha-Zanbil was known as Dur Untaš, and may had been a sacred city of the Elamite Kingdom, an ancient Pre-Iranian civilization centred in the far West and Southwest of what is now modern-day Iran.

In order to determine the chemical composition of these unique samples, including one piece of ceramics and one piece of metallurgical crucible, a team of Iranian scientists came to ALBA Synchrotron to analyse them using X-Rays Powder Diffraction at the MSPD beamline. The MSPD analyses were carried out on more than 100 points on the glass objects. Synchrotron light enabled them to obtain high resolution diffraction patterns, from whose interpretation researchers have deduced the exact composition of the clay based structure as well as glassy part of the samples.

>Read more on the ALBA website

Image: The glass objects were originally used at the walls and doors of the tempel Chogha-Zanbil.
Credit: Mohammadamin Emami