BUNT · Colorful Indications of (Ex)Change.
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-09-01 → 2022-08-31
- EU contribution
- €186,167
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Colorful Indications of (Ex)Change.
Like the present, the ancient world was fascinated by color too. People manipulated natural materials to use them as colorants early on. The understanding of our colorful past is part of scholarly discussions and becoming accepted among a wider audience. This is supported by advances in analytical methods capable of characterizing traces of colorants from archaeological contexts. Recent scientific advances aim at provenancing the raw materials used for ancient pigments. This is highly relevant, because it can elucidate not only the origin and exploitation of resources, connecting various places through trade, but potentially also production processes and the transfer of technological skills and know-how as well as the organization of pigment production in the human past. With a focus on the provenance of resources for and production technology of red (cinnabar) and blue pigments (Egyptian blue) – both pigments were spatially and temporally widely used in the Roman world – this project investigated the economic and cultural relevance of color in the human past. Through a multi-analytical approach, this project tested the potential of ancient pigments as subtle, but powerful indicators of trade, exchange of technology and cultural transfer between Italy and the peripheral province of Noricum after it became part of the Roman empire. To conclude, pigment provenance analysis underlines that strong ties existed between Italy and Noricum: the latter was likely supplied by pigments produced in Italy, while the former also used raw materials available in the Southern Alps.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Archaeometric research on ancient polychromy can reveal how past cultures exchanged commodities and knowledge. This raises fundamental questions relevant to cultural heritage research, to our understanding and present-day perception of ancient economic dynamics, technology and art. I have analyzed a number of colorants, with the aim of determining material provenance. The more of these analyses that are carried out, the more the need for an integrated synopsis of the current state of knowledge becomes pressing. My overall research goal is to test the potential of ancient pigments for indicating various forms of (ex)change. I hypothesize that the information on provenance and production processes gained from scientifically analyzing, archaeologically and historically contextualizing ancient pigments will indicate procurement patterns, technology and organization of production, and transfer of knowledge and culture in a novel way. To test this, I will investigate the origin of raw materials and the product quality of cinnabar and Egyptian blue pigments in unprecedented detail with a multidisciplinary approach: The impurities in pigment mineral phases can indicate production processes and thus perhaps organization of production. Trace elements and isotope ratios vary depending on the geology of a source area. This allows excluding a less likely provenance. For BUNT, I will set the material analysis in context with the discussion of the cultural, political and economic dynamics in Noricum after it became part of the Roman Empire – an area with abundant local resources and the potential for local production of pigments, and a highly interesting time of cultural change. BUNT is innovative, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral, which will advance my versatility and independence in research, and which is in line with the ambitions communication and dissemination strategies; it builds, at its core, an open pigment database and aims to promote European cultural heritage.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN · WienCoordinatorAustria
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union