Imaging the past: recent applications of multispectral imaging technology to deciphering manuscripts

Chabries, Douglas M.; Booras, Steven W.; Bearman, Gregory H.

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00092346

Cited by 44 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…In particular, the use of binocular microscopes, and digital photography, employing 'multispectral' filters that isolate a narrow portion of the near-infrared spectrum, have both improved the readability of these texts considerably 14,15 . Unfortunately, these techniques are not applicable to texts that remain rolled-up due to the superposition of papyrus layers and the weak penetration of most types of radiation exploited by multispectral techniques.…”

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confidence: 99%

Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging

et al. 2015

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Hundreds of papyrus rolls, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and belonging to the only library passed on from Antiquity, were discovered 260 years ago at Herculaneum. These carbonized papyri are extremely fragile and are inevitably damaged or destroyed in the process of trying to open them to read their contents. In recent years, new imaging techniques have been developed to read the texts without unwrapping the rolls. Until now, specialists have been unable to view the carbon-based ink of these papyri, even when they could penetrate the different layers of their spiral structure. Here for the first time, we show that X-ray phase-contrast tomography can reveal various letters hidden inside the precious papyri without unrolling them. This attempt opens up new opportunities to read many Herculaneum papyri, which are still rolled up, thus enhancing our knowledge of ancient Greek literature and philosophy.

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confidence: 99%

Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging

et al. 2015

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“…The writing on the tablets is primarily preserved in the ink. The written material has been studied in depth using multispectral imaging (Booras and Seely, 1999;Chabries et al, 2003;Falcone et al, 2007). Our test with Polynomial Texture Mapping demonstrated that the differing surface textures of the wooden tablets and the ink lead to varying distribution of light by incident angle.…”

Section: Herculaneum Tablets and Wall Paintingmentioning

confidence: 94%

Archaeological applications of polynomial texture mapping: analysis, conservation and representation

Earl

Martinez

Malzbender

2010

Journal of Archaeological Science

107

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a b s t r a c tPolynomial Texture Mapping is an image capture and processing technique that was developed by HP Labs in 2000. It enables the recording and representation of subtle surface details using a standard digital camera and lighting, and software that is free for non-commercial use. Cultural heritage applications have been associated with the technology from its earliest stages, including examples in areas such as cuneiform, numismatics, rock art, lithics and Byzantine art. The paper begins by outlining the technical principles involved. It then brings together the extant work in the field. Through examples developed by the University of Southampton in partnership with a range of UK and international bodies it demonstrates the benefits of the technology in the areas of archaeological analysis, conservation and representation. Finally it considers the future possibilities of this technology and ongoing developments.

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“…Almost all attempts resulted in failure and apparently very large numbers of the scrolls were lost. However exciting new imaging techniques have now made it possible to elucidate the text on similar scrolls (Baumann et al 2008;Chabries et al 2003).…”

Section: Writing Conservation 325mentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing as Material Practice: Substance, surface and medium

Matthews¹

2013

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Imaging the past: recent applications of multispectral imaging technology to deciphering manuscripts

Cited by 44 publications

References 6 publications

Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging

Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging

Archaeological applications of polynomial texture mapping: analysis, conservation and representation

Writing as Material Practice: Substance, surface and medium

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