ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Unravelling the mysteries of ancient metal scrolls with high-resolution neutron tomography visualisation

Abstract: In antiquity, various types of thin metal sheets were used as materials on which to inscribe texts, and then tightly rolled up. It is necessary to have access to their interior for decipherment. The condition of ancient metal scrolls is often very poor. Their treatment is one of the most problematic in ancient metals conservation. This experiment seeks to establish an innovative, non-invasive method for ?virtually? unrolling ancient metal scrolls. The methodology will be widely applicable; similar artefacts are found across the Ancient world. We propose to analyse 6 samples of lead and copper scrolls from the collections of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The objects are from securely dated Roman-Byzantine archaeological contexts. We request 4 days on IMAT to carry out high resolution neutron tomography of the artefacts. Two days on GEM will be requested to run in parallel.

Principal Investigator: Mrs Helena Kupershmidt
Experimenter: Dr Yotam Asscher
Experimenter: Dr Yonah Maor
Experimenter: Dr Evelyne Godfrey
Experimenter: Ms Dana Goodburn-Brown
Local Contact: Dr Winfried Kockelmann

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2010036

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2010036

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Mrs Helena Kupershmidt et al; (2022): Unravelling the mysteries of ancient metal scrolls with high-resolution neutron tomography visualisation, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2010036

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.