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The Artemidorus Papyrus: Solving An Ancient Puzzle with Radiocarbon and Ion Beam Analysis Measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

M E Fedi ,
L Carraresi ,
N Grassi ,
A Migliori ,
F Taccetti ,
F Terrasi  and
P A Mandò
M E Fedi*
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy
L Carraresi
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy
N Grassi
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy
A Migliori
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy
F Taccetti
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy
F Terrasi
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA e Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Seconda Università di Napoli, via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
P A Mandò
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy
*
Corresponding author. Email: fedi@fi.infn.it
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Abstract

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Ancient papyrus manuscripts are one of the most fascinating sources for reconstructing not only ancient life habits but also past literature. Recently, an amazing document has come to the fore due to the heated debates it raised: the so-called Artemidorus papyrus. It is a very long scroll (about 2.5 m) composed of several fragments of different sizes, with inscriptions and drawings on both sides. On the recto of the document, a text about geography and some drawings of heads, feet, and hands are present, while on the verso there are many sketches of animals, both real and fantastic. Its importance in classical studies comes from the fact that some scholars claim that it is the first known transcription of a relatively large fragment by the Greek geographer Artemidorus. However, other scholars think that the papyrus is a fake, drawn in the 19th century AD by a well-known forger. In order to overcome all possible ambiguities, the papyrus has been studied not only on the basis of historical and paleographic criteria but also by scientific techniques. We have contributed to the knowledge about the papyrus by radiocarbon dating the document and by analyzing the composition of the ink using ion beam analysis (IBA). Results are compatible with the scroll being an ancient manuscript: accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C measurements have dated the papyrus to a period between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, while IBA measurements have pointed out the use of an organic (carbon-based) ink, which was typical of ancient Roman and Greek times. Details of the measurements are presented to emphasize the importance of combining AMS and IBA results.

Type
Archaeology
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 52 , Issue 2: 20th Int. Radiocarbon Conference Proceedings , 2010 , pp. 356 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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