Lecture
Analysing written artefacts with the CSMC Mobile Lab: new discoveries and ethical considerations
- at -
- ICM Saal 4a
- Type: Lecture
Lecture description
Archaeometry is a peculiar branch of the Natural Sciences: while the investigation of any materially complex and chemically impure artefact requires the application of the most advanced analytical methods, the understanding of Cultural Heritage objects intrinsically presents additional challenges and imposes stricter limitations, especially concerning the mobility and manipulation of the items, the advisability of sampling, and the concern for long-term damages. This is even truer when working with written artefacts, and with manuscripts in particular, due to the object’s multi-layered nature, the small size of the strokes, and the inhomogeneity of the constituting substances.
To overcome such hurdles the Mobile Lab of the Centre for the Study of Manuscripts Cultures (CSMC), Uni Hamburg, follows a unique workflow: the input from specialists in several disciplines (with emphasis on the Humanities) and from the most important stakeholders (such as curators, conservators, owners and sometimes entire communities) is leveraged to inform an item-tailored multi-step and multi-analytical protocol, with subsequent iterative interpretative stages. The blueprint for the protocol itself is the evolution of the ink analysis protocol developed by CSMC and BAM (Bundesanstaalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung) [1,2], while the workflow is inspired, among other sources, by the ICON Heritage Science Group recommendations for sampling [3] and the principles of green heritage science [4].
In this presentation I will first introduce our Laboratory and present the ethical principles guiding our work. Then, I will offer a couple of examples showcasing the practical benefits of our approach in terms of results achieved, on top of the less tangible but critically important advantages stemming from being ethically respectful to the objects and the community they represent
Literature:
[1] Rabin I, Schütz R, Kohl A, et al. (2012) Identification and classification of historical writing inks in spectroscopy: a methodological overview. In: Comparative oriental
manuscript studies newsletter, 2012, 26–30.
[2] Colini C, Shevchuk I, Huskin K A, et al. (2021), A New Standard Protocol for Identification of Writing Media. In J. B. Quenzer (ed.), Exploring Written Artefacts (Studies in Manuscript Cultures 25), Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2021, 161–182.
[3] Quye A, Strlič M, ICON Heritage Science Group, Ethical Sampling Guidance, 2019, https://www.icon.org.uk/resource/icons-impact-a-practicaltool-for-ethical sampling.html.
[4] Elnaggar A, Nine principles of green heritage science: life cycle assessment as a tool enabling green transformation. Herit Sci 12, 7 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-01114-z .
To overcome such hurdles the Mobile Lab of the Centre for the Study of Manuscripts Cultures (CSMC), Uni Hamburg, follows a unique workflow: the input from specialists in several disciplines (with emphasis on the Humanities) and from the most important stakeholders (such as curators, conservators, owners and sometimes entire communities) is leveraged to inform an item-tailored multi-step and multi-analytical protocol, with subsequent iterative interpretative stages. The blueprint for the protocol itself is the evolution of the ink analysis protocol developed by CSMC and BAM (Bundesanstaalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung) [1,2], while the workflow is inspired, among other sources, by the ICON Heritage Science Group recommendations for sampling [3] and the principles of green heritage science [4].
In this presentation I will first introduce our Laboratory and present the ethical principles guiding our work. Then, I will offer a couple of examples showcasing the practical benefits of our approach in terms of results achieved, on top of the less tangible but critically important advantages stemming from being ethically respectful to the objects and the community they represent
Literature:
[1] Rabin I, Schütz R, Kohl A, et al. (2012) Identification and classification of historical writing inks in spectroscopy: a methodological overview. In: Comparative oriental
manuscript studies newsletter, 2012, 26–30.
[2] Colini C, Shevchuk I, Huskin K A, et al. (2021), A New Standard Protocol for Identification of Writing Media. In J. B. Quenzer (ed.), Exploring Written Artefacts (Studies in Manuscript Cultures 25), Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2021, 161–182.
[3] Quye A, Strlič M, ICON Heritage Science Group, Ethical Sampling Guidance, 2019, https://www.icon.org.uk/resource/icons-impact-a-practicaltool-for-ethical sampling.html.
[4] Elnaggar A, Nine principles of green heritage science: life cycle assessment as a tool enabling green transformation. Herit Sci 12, 7 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-01114-z .
