Cinnabar

Ingredients

cinnabar

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Used as a red ink for text (p. 23).

Evidence

"Cinnabar has been identified used for text on the Dead Sea Scrolls (late 5th Century BCE–4th Century AD; [213])."

Remarks

The use of cinnabar for text on the Dead Sea Scrolls is notable given the poisonous nature of the material (p. 23). In the Classical world, such red lettering was known as 'rubric' and signified important text (p. 23).