reddish-brown variety

Ingredients

Gum arabic, glair, blood of animals, diluted vinegar, wormwood

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The ink is composed of a reddish-brown colorant, using gum arabic as the primary additive. Other binders include glair and the blood of different animals. To prevent biological degradation, mild solutions of diluted vinegar or wormwood were added to the mixture (p. 191).

Evidence

"The ink used is of the reddish-brown variety commonly used in the Byzantine period for literary texts and sometimes for documents. It is interesting to find so early a dated instance for its use. ... Gum arabic was the most common additive in the inks, but glair seems also to have been employed."

Remarks

This sample from Oxyrhynchus, dated to 269 CE, is noted for being an exceptionally early instance of the reddish-brown ink style that would later become standard in the Byzantine period. It highlights the use of specialized botanical and animal additives for preservation and viscosity (p. 191).