05 January, 2025
A recent study at the BEATS beamline reveals details of the production of ancient vitreous materials, particularly faience and Egyptian blue.
The Istanbul University team of archaeologists and physicists, Gonca Dardeniz (Principal Investigator), Suat Özkorucuklu, Onur Kaya, and Gülistan Büyükgedik, together with the BEATS beamline scientist, Fareeha Hameed, studied 5000 year-old faience beads and 3000 year-old Egyptian blue pigment fragments from eastern Anatolia via phase-contrast tomography. The experiments yielded detailed information on the production and microstructure of these colored materials non-invasively. With the experiments, the team aims to understand regional differences in ancient production technologies.
