Date/Time
Date(s) - 25 Apr 2017
4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Location
Butler Library, Room 523
Category(ies) No Categories
For the past five years the Ancient Ink Lab has been studying the manufacture and properties of ink used in writing on papyrus in the ancient world, and we will be presenting current results of our research. This lecture and reception is co-sponsored by the Columbia Classics Department and the Columbia University Libraries.
To register for the event: https://tinyurl.com/l9yh69g
“To Detect and Conserve: New Research on the Science and History of Columbia’s Ancient Manuscripts”
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
523 Butler Library
What happens when researchers in carbon nanotechnology encounter some of the oldest documents in existence? In 2012, scientists, papyrologists and conservators joined forces to study writing materials thousands of years old, and the Ancient Ink Laboratory was born. Based in the Columbia Nano Initiative, the team found an ideal source of study in the Columbia University Libraries’ Papyri and Ostraca Collection, one of the largest holdings of ancient writings in the United States. This talk will describe the cross-disciplinary work of the Ancient Ink Lab and explain some of its surprising discoveries, including research that may lead to a new and non-destructive method for dating carbon inks from the ancient Mediterranean world. Our speakers are Alexis Hagadorn, Head of Conservation, Columbia University Libraries; David Ratzan, Head Librarian, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University; and Sarah Goler, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia Nano Initiative.