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Much of the previous sixty years (1949-2009) have been devoted to the cleaning of the Dead Sea scrolls, their piecing together and their translation. The present volume is a scientific study of the various archaeological relics that have been found in the three units at Qumran: The settlement, the caves with the scrolls and the cemetery. With the aid of neutron activation of Qumran's pottery we established its human relations with neighboring sites, by radio carbon dating we placed the relics in their time frame, by DNA we study the provenance of the animal hides that served the scribes as parchment. The ink is studied for examining the degradation processes that started when the scrolls were written, 2000-2300 years ago.
PIXELS & PAINTINGS “The discussion is firmly grounded in established art historical practices, such as close visual analysis and an understanding of artists’ working methods, and real-world examples demonstrate how computer-assisted techniques can complement traditional approaches.” —Dr. Emilie Gordenker, Director of the Van Gogh Museum The pioneering presentation of computer-based image analysis of fine art, forging a dialog between art scholars and the computer vision community In recent years, sophisticated computer vision, graphics, and artificial intelligence algorithms have proven to be increasingly powerful tools in the study of fine art. These methods—some adapted from fore...
A lively account of our age-old quest for brighter colors, which changed the way we see the world, from the best-selling author of Proof: The Science of Booze From kelly green to millennial pink, our world is graced with a richness of colors. But our human-made colors haven't always matched nature's kaleidoscopic array. To reach those brightest heights required millennia of remarkable innovation and a fascinating exchange of ideas between science and craft that's allowed for the most luminous manifestations of our built and adorned world. In Full Spectrum, Rogers takes us on that globe-trotting journey, tracing an arc from the earliest humans to our digitized, synthesized present and future....
In medieval England, women in labor wrapped birth girdles around their abdomens to protect themselves and their unborn children. These parchment or paper rolls replicated the "girdle relics" of the Virgin Mary and other saints loaned to queens and noblewomen, extending childbirth protection to women of all classes. This book examines the texts and images of nine English birth girdles produced between the reigns of Richard II and Henry VIII. Cultural artifacts of lay devotion within the birthing chamber, the birth girdles offered the solace and promise of faith to the parturient woman and her attendants amid religious dissent, political upheaval, recurring epidemics, and the onset of print.
In the fields of documentation and conservation of cultural heritage assets, there is a constant need for higher quality records and better analytical tools for extracting information about the condition of artefacts. Digital photography and digital image processing provide these capabilities, and recent technological advances in both fields promise new levels of performance for the capture and understanding of colour images. This inter-disciplinary book covers the imaging of decorated surfaces in historical buildings and the digitisation of documents, paintings and objects in museums and galleries, and shows how user requirements can be met by application of powerful digital imaging techniques. Numerous case studies illustrate the methods.
Many areas of material science have been transformed by the use of synchrotron radiation X-rays, including the fields of cultural heritage materials and biomineralization. This book presents a selection of contributions that illustrate recent developments and applications of these tools, focused either on the main techniques used in the cultural heritage and biomineralization communities or on specific materials, studying their intrinsic properties or how they change with time. Each chapter can be read alone, and each individually demonstrates the intimate links between materials and methods. The chapters explore the main principles of synchrotron radiation, as well as techniques based on X-ray absorption and diffraction, and give an overview of how these approaches have developed in recent decades in the field of cultural heritage, with specific examples such as ancient ceramics, corrosion of iron-based materials, concrete used in Roman monuments and the biomineralization process in sea urchin spines.
How data surveillance, digital forensics, and generative AI pose new long-term threats and opportunities—and how we can use them to make better decisions in the face of technological uncertainty. In The Secret Life of Data, Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert explore the many unpredictable, and often surprising, ways in which data surveillance, AI, and the constant presence of algorithms impact our culture and society in the age of global networks. The authors build on this basic premise: no matter what form data takes, and what purpose we think it’s being used for, data will always have a secret life. How this data will be used, by other people in other times and places, has profound impli...
This volume highlights recent research efforts in the conservation and investigation of works of art on wood. Through eleven case studies it showcases different experimental methods ranging from X-ray analysis of objects to the study of cross-sections made from micro-samples. New research focusing on the technical study, treatment and assessment of works of art on wood in its many forms is featured in this edited volume. Technical studies include the attribution and investigations of a triptych by Hans Memling and a sculpture from workshop of Michel and Gregor Erhart, decorated Syrian rooms, and investigations of finely carved Gothic wooden objects. Synchrotron-based methods are presented fo...
This book contains an exhaustive survey of past and present Qumran research, outlining its particular development in various circumstances and national contexts. For the first time, perspectives and information not recorded in any other publication are highlighted.
This volume brings together a series of innovative studies on Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic Palestine, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and ancient synagogues in honor of renowned archaeologist Jodi Magness.