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Title: Archeological Applications of XAFS: Prehistorical Paintings And Medieval Glasses

Abstract

High-resolution manganese and iron K-edges XANES spectra were collected on several samples of archeological interest: prehistorical paintings and medieval glasses. XANES spectra were collected at the ID21 facility (ESRF, Grenoble, France) using a micro-beam device and at the 11-2 beamline (SSRL, Stanford, USA) using a submillimetric beam. The medieval glasses studied are from gothic glass windows from Normandy (XIVth century). The aim of this study is to help understand the chemical durability of these materials, exposed to weathering since the XIVth century. They are used as analogues of weathered glasses used to dump metallic wastes. These glasses show surficial enrichment in manganese, due to its oxidation from II (glass) to III/IV (surface), which precipitates as amorphous oxy-hydroxides. Similarly, iron is oxidized on the surface and forms ferrihydrite-type aggregates. The prehistorical paintings are from Lascaux and Ekain (Basque country). We choose in that study the black ones, rich in manganese to search for potential evidences of some 'savoir-faire' that the Paleolithic men could have used to realize their paint in rock art, as shown earlier for Fe-bearing pigments. A large number of highly valuable samples, micrometric scaled, were extracted from these frescoes and show large variation in the mineralogical nature ofmore » the black pigments used, from an amorphous psilomelane-type to a well-crystallized pyrolusite. Correlation with the crystals morphology helps understanding the know-how of these early artists.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
894118
Report Number(s):
SLAC-REPRINT-2005-304
TRN: US200702%%88
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Phys.Scripta T115:885,2005
Additional Journal Information:
Conference: Proceedings 12th International Conference on X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS XII) 115:885,2005
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; ABSORPTION; ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY; ARCHAEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS; CULTURAL OBJECTS; FINE STRUCTURE; FRANCE; GLASS; IRON; MANGANESE; MORPHOLOGY; OXIDATION; PIGMENTS; SPECTRA; WASTES; WEATHERING; WINDOWS; X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY; Other,OTHER

Citation Formats

Farges, F, Chalmin, E, Vignaud, C, Pallot-Frossard, I, Susini, J, Bargar, J, Brown, Jr, G E, Menu, M, and /SLAC, SSRL. Archeological Applications of XAFS: Prehistorical Paintings And Medieval Glasses. United States: N. p., 2006. Web.
Farges, F, Chalmin, E, Vignaud, C, Pallot-Frossard, I, Susini, J, Bargar, J, Brown, Jr, G E, Menu, M, & /SLAC, SSRL. Archeological Applications of XAFS: Prehistorical Paintings And Medieval Glasses. United States.
Farges, F, Chalmin, E, Vignaud, C, Pallot-Frossard, I, Susini, J, Bargar, J, Brown, Jr, G E, Menu, M, and /SLAC, SSRL. 2006. "Archeological Applications of XAFS: Prehistorical Paintings And Medieval Glasses". United States.
@article{osti_894118,
title = {Archeological Applications of XAFS: Prehistorical Paintings And Medieval Glasses},
author = {Farges, F and Chalmin, E and Vignaud, C and Pallot-Frossard, I and Susini, J and Bargar, J and Brown, Jr, G E and Menu, M and /SLAC, SSRL},
abstractNote = {High-resolution manganese and iron K-edges XANES spectra were collected on several samples of archeological interest: prehistorical paintings and medieval glasses. XANES spectra were collected at the ID21 facility (ESRF, Grenoble, France) using a micro-beam device and at the 11-2 beamline (SSRL, Stanford, USA) using a submillimetric beam. The medieval glasses studied are from gothic glass windows from Normandy (XIVth century). The aim of this study is to help understand the chemical durability of these materials, exposed to weathering since the XIVth century. They are used as analogues of weathered glasses used to dump metallic wastes. These glasses show surficial enrichment in manganese, due to its oxidation from II (glass) to III/IV (surface), which precipitates as amorphous oxy-hydroxides. Similarly, iron is oxidized on the surface and forms ferrihydrite-type aggregates. The prehistorical paintings are from Lascaux and Ekain (Basque country). We choose in that study the black ones, rich in manganese to search for potential evidences of some 'savoir-faire' that the Paleolithic men could have used to realize their paint in rock art, as shown earlier for Fe-bearing pigments. A large number of highly valuable samples, micrometric scaled, were extracted from these frescoes and show large variation in the mineralogical nature of the black pigments used, from an amorphous psilomelane-type to a well-crystallized pyrolusite. Correlation with the crystals morphology helps understanding the know-how of these early artists.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/894118}, journal = {Phys.Scripta T115:885,2005},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2006},
month = {Fri Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2006}
}