Cinnabar
Iraq
9th Century
Source: Marotta, G., Fedeli, A., Sathiyamani, S., & Colini, C. (2025). Archaeometric philology for the study of deteriorated and overlapping layers of ink: the colour code of an early Qur’anic fragment. Eur. Phys. J. Plus, 140, 446.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
cinnabar, mercury
Preparation Steps
The paper notes that recipes for the preparation of cinnabar for red inks are reported in Arabic mediaeval technical treatises dedicated to scribal practices, such as those by al-Marrākushī (Section 5, p. 9).
Original Recipe Text
The paper notes that recipes for the preparation of cinnabar for red inks are reported in Arabic mediaeval technical treatises dedicated to scribal practices, such as those by al-Marrākushī (Section 5, p. 9).
Evidence
"The XRF spectra of the red pigment present high counts of mercury, suggesting the use of cinnabar (Fig. 4b, c). This result is confirmed by the Raman spectrum of the pigment, with characteristic peaks at 254 cm−1 and 343 cm−1."
Remarks
Used in the colour code to mark the main reading, considered the canonical one (p. 3). Mercury is present as a trace element throughout the manuscript, likely due to tool contamination (Section 4.2). Red dots mark primary readings (e.g., thamar) while variants use other colours (Section 3.1).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionHgS
Analytical Techniques
Vis–NIR spectrophotometry
XRF
Raman spectrometer
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
ColorRed
RegionIraq
Approx. Year850
Source Information
AuthorMarotta, G., Fedeli, A., Sathiyamani, S., & Colini, C.
Collectionf. 4r, f. 5r, f. 7v, f. 8v, f. 10r, f. 10v
Language
N/A
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