No abstract

Raman spectrometry, with its small sample size requirements and high spatial resolution, has proved an invaluable means of identifying the pigments used in ancient Egyptian art. This paper describes the use of the technique to investigate the pigments on a group of objects and paintings from the Old Kingdom period held within the British Museum collections. A wide range of typical ancient Egyptian pigments, including haematite, goethite, carbon, Egyptian Blue, gypsum and anhydrite, have been found, together with others previously thought of as 'rare' in this context, such as huntite and jarosite. The jarosite occurs in a context which makes it extremely unlikely to be an alteration product, as had been suggested previously. There is also evidence of sophisticated mixing of a range of raw materials to produce desired colours. Additionally, huntite appears to have been used as a ground under some of the less opaque pigments to produce a stronger hue.

Dates issued by the British Museum radiocarbon laboratory between 1980 and 1984 are known to have been in error. This paper outlines the cause of the problem and the procedures adopted to revise the results affected. Where revision has been possible, on average this has given dates older by 200 to 300 radiocarbon years. The individual revised results are tabulated.

No abstract

Analysis of a sample of white paint from a ceramic pot of Roman date, using FT-Raman spectroscopy indicated that a component of the white paint was anatase. This suggested that the presence of anatase, usually regarded as an indicator of modern (early twentieth century or later) intervention, could extend back at least two thousand years. Further examination of the sample, using scanning electron microscopy, chemical analysis using an energy-dispersive X-ray analyser, X-ray diffraction and microRaman spectroscopy, has confirmed the presence of anatase in small proportions (approximately 1.5%). An explanation for the initial observations relating to the sensitivity of anatase detection in Raman analysis is explored.