Date:

Discovered: Unknown yellow colors from antiquity

Archaeologists have long known that artefacts from the Antiquity were far more colorful than one would think when looking at the bright white statues and temples, left behind for today.

The statues and buildings only appear white today because the colors have degraded over time; Initially, lots of colors were in use.

- Advertisement -

This was also true for King Apries I’s palace in Ancient Egypt. This palace was situated in the Nile Delta, and from here King Apries ruled from 589 to approx. 568 BC.

Fragments of the palace are today kept at the Glyptoteket Museum in Copenhagen, and recently they have been the focus of a collaboration between archaeologists from Glyptoteket, the British Museum, the University of Pisa and a chemist from the University of Southern Denmark.

– We are interested in learning more about the use of pigments, binders and the techniques associated with using them in the Antiquity. It has an obvious relevance for art historians, but it can also tell us about how different cultures in the Mediterranean and the Near East exchanged materials and knowledge and thus connected, says Cecilie Brøns, classical archaeologist at Glyptoteket.

With this in mind, the archaeologists have worked with professor of archaeometry Kaare Lund Rasmussen from the University of Southern Denmark.

- Advertisement -

Professor Rasmussen is an expert in conducting advanced chemical analyzes of archaeological objects. Among other things, he has examined the beard of renaissance astronomer Tycho Brahe, Italian monk skeletons, medieval syphilis-infested bones, sacred relics and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

For this project, he has taken samples of the palace fragments to learn more about the pigments and binders used.

– We have discovered no less than two pigments whose use in Antiquity has hitherto been completely unknown, says Kaare Lund Rasmussen.

These are lead-antimonate yellow and lead-tin yellow. Both are naturally occurring mineral pigments.

– We do not know whether the two pigments were commonly available or rare. Future chemical studies of other antiquity artifacts may shed more light, he says.

Lead-antimonate yellow and lead-tin yellow have so far only been found in paintings dating to the Middle Ages or younger than that. The oldest known use of lead-tin yellow is in European paintings from ca. 1300 AD. The oldest known use of lead-antimonate yellow is from the beginning of the 16th century AD.

Analyzing binders is more difficult than analyzing pigments. Pigments are inorganic and do not deteriorate as easily as most binders which are organic and therefore deteriorate faster.

Nevertheless, Kaare Lund Rasmussen’s Italian colleagues from Professor Maria Perla Colombini’s research group at the University of Pisa managed to find traces of two binders, namely rubber and animal glue.

The rubber is probably tapped from an acacia tree and served as a solvent for powdered pigment. Rubber was widely used as a binder, and it has also been found on stone columns in the Karnak Temple and murals in Queen Nefertiti’s tomb.

Animal glue was also commonly available. It was made by boiling animal parts, in particular, the hides and bones, in water to a gel-like mass that could be dried and pulverized. When needed, the powder was stirred with warm water and ready to use.

The researchers also found these color pigments:

  • Calcite (white).
  • Gypsum (white).
  • Egyptian Blue (a synthetic pigment, invented in the 3rd millennium BC)
  • Atacamite (green).
  • Hematite (red).
  • Orpiment (golden yellow).

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK

Header Image – This is yellow paint from the Palace of King Apries I. Credit : Ole Haupt/SDU

- Advertisement -

Stay Updated: Follow us on iOS, Android, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and our newsletter

spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is a multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Ancient boomerang found in Polish cave stuns scientists

A study of a Palaeolithic boomerang found in Poland's Obłazowa Cave has been dated to 42,000 years ago, making the discovery the oldest example in Europe and potentially the world.

Women ruled over oldest known city

A groundbreaking study published in the journal Science has revealed that women played the dominant role at Çatalhöyük.

Intact Etruscan tomb discovered in the Necropolis of San Giuliano

An intact Etruscan tomb has been discovered at the site of the Necropolis of San Giuliano, which lies within the Marturanum Regional Park near Barbarano Romano, Italy.

Soldier’s wrist purse discovered at Roman legionary camp

Archaeologists have discovered a fragment of a soldier's wrist purse at the site of a temporary Roman camp in South Moravia, Czech Republic.

Lost equestrian sculpture found buried in Toul

Archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) have discovered an equestrian sculpture during excavations in Toul, France.

Roman-Era settlement unearthed in Alès

A recent excavation led by Inrap has uncovered a remarkably well-preserved Roman-era settlement on the slopes of the Hermitage hill overlooking Alès, southern France.

Excavations in Olympos reveal ancient mosaics and sacred inscriptions

Excavations in Olympos, Antalya province, have uncovered mosaic floors and inscriptions within a 5th-century church, part of a year-round project backed by Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Mammoth bones uncovered during road construction works

The Construction of the S17 Piaski–Hrebenne highway near the Arabunie village in Zamość County has revealed the remains of what is believed to be either a woolly mammoth or a forest elephant.