Speaker: Uwe Bergmann, LCLS
Program Description
To uncover some of the obscured writings in the famous Archimedes Palimpsest, some years ago the technique of rapid-scan X-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging was developed at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. Since its successful application to the Archimedes project, XRF has been refined in recent years, leading to numerous new studies of large objects of cultural, archaeological and paleontological importance.
After briefly reviewing the Archimedes work we will present cultural heritage examples including the imaging of a leaf from a seventh-century Qur’an palimpsest and a section of the original score of the opera Médée believed to be over-painted by its composer Luigi Cherubini. Other examples presented include the recent discovery of soft-tissue residues in fossils of Archaeopteryx, as well as the work that has successfully resolved the remnants of pigment in Confuciusornis sanctus, a 120-million-year-old fossil of the oldest documented bird with a fully derived avian beak.
References:
Manning, et al, Synchrotron-based chemical imaging reveals plumage patterns in a 150 million year old early bird, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 28, 1024–1030 (2013)
Bergmann, et al, Chemical mapping of paleontological and archeological artifacts with synchrotron X-rays, Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, 5, 361-389 (2012)
Bergmann U., Chapter 6, Imaging with X-ray Fluorescence in ‘The Archimedes Palimpsest’, Vol. 1 Netz R, Noel W, Wilson N, Tchernetska N, eds., Cambridge University Press, (2011)
Wogelius, et al, Trace metals as biomarkers for Eumelanin Pigment in the Fossil Record, Science, 333, 1622-1626 (2011)
Sadeghi, B; Bergmann, U; The Codex of a Companion of the Prophet and the Qur’ān of the Prophet, Arabica, 57/4-5, 343-436, (2010)
Bergmann, U; Morton, RW; Manning, PL; Sellers, WI; Farrar, S; Huntley, KG; Wogelius, RA; and Larson, P; Archaeopteryx feathers and bone chemistry fully revealed via synchrotron imaging, Proc Natl Acad Sci, 107, (20) 9060-9065 (2010)
