By using a newly refined technique to analyze tiny bits of red pigment from an ancient Egyptian quiver, a researcher has found that a dye known as madder was used 4,000 years ago. Until now, the oldest relic containing madder dated to about 1,200 B.C., according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Analyzing ancient pigments is difficult because often not very much pigment remains on a relic, while at the same time, removing a large chunk of the dye for analysis would destroy the object. In this study, however, the researcher was able to analyze the dye without damaging the relic by refining
a technique called Raman spectroscopy, which relies on the scattering of light to study materials. That process is not generally suitable for studying madder or some other dyes, but Leona enhanced the result using tiny metal particles that could ...
