Papyri on display at the Egyptian Museum in Turin.

-

Antonio Calanni / AP / SIPA

Researchers have uncovered the presence of lead in black and red inks used on papyri from ancient Egypt.

Experts have discovered that the composition of pigments is much more complex than they imagined.

The substances also contain ions of phosphate, sulfate, chloride and carboxylate, indicates a study published on Monday and relayed by

Sciences & Avenir

.

The authors detailed their findings in

PNAS

.

They explained that they had studied 12 pieces of papyrus found in the library of the temple of Tebtynis (Egypt).

The documents were written between 100 and 200 AD and are of various kinds.

Some texts are medical while others deal with astrology or rituals.

New insights into the composition of red and black ink from Egyptian papyri based on synchrotron micro-analyzes.


▶ ️ A study unveiling ancient writing practices, published in @PNASNews


▶ ️ https://t.co/Wr9LmOoPIl pic.twitter.com/Jv26YTz6fC

- European Synchrotron (@esrfsynchrotron) October 26, 2020

Speed ​​up drying

For their work, researchers from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble have used diffraction and fluorescence.

These are techniques made possible by the use of micro-X-rays. Micro-infrared spectroscopy has also enabled them to analyze the composition of microscopic samples of ink.

These methods showed that the lead used to make the red and black inks was not there in the state of lead white or of minium, explains

Sciences et Avenir

.

These forms of lead were however very common in the pigments of Antiquity.

Scientists deduced that the metal was not used to color the liquid but to increase its drying speed.

This precise use of lead was not known until then until the 15th century.

Artists then used it for their oil paintings.

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