carbon-based ink

Ingredients

soot, charcoal, water-soluble binder, gum Arabic, water, copper

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Carbon ink is traditionally made of soot or charcoal mixed with a water-soluble binder (usually gum Arabic), followed by its dispersion in water before use (p. 851). The copper in this specific sample is hypothesized to be an accidental contamination rather than an intentional addition, potentially from a copper or bronze inkwell or copper ions in the water (p. 854).

Evidence

"The results indicate that the text was written with a carbon-based ink characterised by the presence of trace amounts of copper, possibly due to impurities in the water or the use of a copper or bronze inkwell. The diacritical dots completing the text were penned using the same ink"

Remarks

This ink was used for the main text and the diacritical dots. The study found that while copper was present in the main text and dots, it was absent in decorative elements, indicating a two-stage writing process (p. 853-854). The presence of copper in carbon ink has been reported increasingly and is often attributed to source contamination or experimentation with new ink types (p. 852-853).