Table 1.
List of the studied papyrus fragments
| Sample no. | Inventory no. | Elements detected with macro-XRF | Elements associated with Fe in red inks (µ-XRF maps) | Elements associated with Pb in red inks (µ-XRF maps) | Other components detected in red inks (µ-XRF maps) |
| 1 | 86 | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, Fe, Pb (+Cu) | Al, P (finely dispersed) | P, S (diffused) | Few Ca particles (up to ∼20 µm) in ink and papyrus; |
| Black ink: P, S, Pb (+Cu) | S also more concentrated in certain regions of ink, without correlation to another element | ||||
| 2 | 89 | Red ink: Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Pb (Na, Ti, Ni). (+Cu) | Mg, Al, Si, P, K (finely dispersed + some big (∼20 µm) particles) | P, S (diffused and more concentrated at edges) | Ca, S particles (up to ∼40 µm) |
| Black ink: No contrast | Si particles (up to ∼20 µm) | ||||
| 3 | 172 | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, K, Fe, Pb (Mg, K, Ca, Ti, Mn) (+Cu) | Mg, Al, P, S, K, Ca (finely dispersed) | P, S (diffused) | |
| Black ink: No contrast (+Cu) | At edges, the ratio Pb/(P, S) is higher (compare with vector 4 vs. vector 1 in SI Appendix, Fig. S3) | ||||
| 4 | SN 1 | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, K, Fe, Pb (Mn, Co) | In red parts: Al, Si, K | P, S (diffused and at edges, transparent) | Ca particles in black parts (up to 30 µm) |
| Black altered regions in red ink: Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Fe | In black degraded parts: Mg, Al, Si, Ca, S, K (higher XRF intensity that in red) | In Cl (large white crystal aggregates in ink) | Si particles in black parts (up to 100 µm) | ||
| White altered regions in red ink: Pb, Cl | NaCl particles on papyrus (up to 150 µm) | ||||
| Black ink: No contrast | |||||
| 5 | SN 2 | Red ink: P, Fe (Ca, Mn) | |||
| Black ink: P, Ca, Mg | |||||
| 6 | 171 | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, Fe, Pb (Co) | |||
| Black ink: No contrast | |||||
| 7 | 587 | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, Ca, Fe, Pb (Ti, Mn, Ni, Co) | Al (finely dispersed + some big (∼50 µm) particles) | P, S (diffused at edges) | Ca, S particles (up to ∼50 µm) |
| Black ink: No contrast | Cl (large crystals aggregates in ink) | Few Ca particles (up to ∼10 µm) | |||
| Si particles (up to ∼50 µm) in ink and papyrus | |||||
| 8 | 231 (13.2) | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, Fe, Pb (Ti, Mn) | Al, P, S (finely dispersed + some big (∼30 µm) particles) | P, S (diffused) | Si particles (up to ∼40 µm) and Ca particles (up to ∼60 µm) in ink and papyrus |
| Black ink: No contrast | Cl (large crystals) | ||||
| 9 | 233 (3) | Red ink: Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ti, Fe, Pb (Ca, Co) | Al, Mg, S, K (finely dispersed + few big (∼20 µm) particles) | P, S (diffused) | Si particles (up to ∼30 µm) and Ca particles (up to ∼15 µm) in ink and papyrus |
| Black ink: Mg, Al, P, Si, (Fe) | |||||
| 10 | 231 (13.1) | Red ink: S, (P, Al, Fe) | Black ink: P, S (diffused) | ||
| Black ink: P, Pb, (S) | |||||
| 11 | 101 | Red ink: Al, P, S, Fe, Pb (Mg, S) | Al, S (finely dispersed + few big (∼10 µm) particles) | Both red and black inks: P, S (diffused) | Si particles (up to ∼30 µm) and Ca particles (up to ∼60 µm) in ink and papyrus |
| Black ink: Al, Mg, P, S, Pb | |||||
| 12 | 233 (4) | Red ink: Mg, Al, P, S, K, Ca, Fe, Pb (Ti, Co) | (Fe, Al) finely mixed with (Ca, S) | P, S (diffused) | Ca particles (up to ∼10 µm) in ink and papyrus |
| Black ink: No contrast | P and K diffused with both (Fe, Al) and (Ca, S) |
List of the studied papyrus fragments, which includes sample numbers, inventory numbers, and elements showing a higher XRF intensity in the red and black inks as compared to the surrounding papyri. In brackets, those elements for which the signal is low and/or alike to the one detected in the papyri are listed. Additional maps above Cu K-edge were acquired only for samples 1 to 4, and only in macro-XRF mode.