Art and Cultural Sciences
The Art of Synergy
Historical artefacts can be studied extremely gently and completely non-destructively using neutrons and photons. Accordingly, art historians and archaeologists are frequent visitors to HZB, where they check paintings from famous artists for authenticity. Historians also bring in valuable scriptures by Archimedes or the Qumran Scrolls, which are some of the oldest known documents of the Bible. Others bring parts of sunken ships or cult objects such as the Nebra Sky Disk or the Berlin Gold Hat, an artefact from the Bronze Age that was most probably a calendar. To ensure that these often unique and highly valuable objects are not damaged, let alone stolen, HZB has air-conditioned examination rooms and secure vaults for storing them.
Of Historical jewels and Dinosaurs
The most frequently asked questions concern creation, origin and authenticity as well as preservation. Physicists can use neutrons to study metallic materials and reveal hidden layers of paints in paintings or the interiors of archaeological treasures. Using synchrotron light, they can analyse the chemical composition of paintings or art objects in precise detail. For instance, the light from BESSY II was used to study the “Empresses‘ Jewels” from the 11th century, also known as the “Gisela Jewels”. Using neutrons, researchers from the Berlin Natural History Museum scanned and illuminated a 270 million-year-old dinosaur skull to obtain information about the prehistoric organism‘s hearing system.
The worm in the sea lily: The 150 millionyear- old, fossilised sea lily revealed its secret to archaeologists from the Humboldt State University Natural History Museum – thanks to neutron tomography: The antique echinoderm was infested with a worm. The worm and sea lily lived together in symbiosis.
The Nebra Sky Disk: The entirely non-destructive analysis of the circa 4000-year-old cultural object revealed important findings. The oldest known depiction of the starry night sky was apparently created in multiple phases, with materials originating from various parts of Europe. This is evidence of travel that had always been thought impossible for those times.
Der „Schmuck der Kaiserinnen“ zur Untersuchung an BESSY II: Die einzelnen Schmuckstücke aus Feingold weisen vielfältige Verzierungen mit Edelsteinen, Perlen und antiken Gemmen auf. Anhand der Materialzusammensetzung können Kunsthistoriker Rückschlüsse auf Bearbeitungsschritte zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten ziehen.
Sunken treasures: Treasures found in sunken ships are often covered with a thick layer of limestone. Archaeologists‘ attempts to remove this covering may damage the object beneath. Left untouched however, such objects are of no scientific use. Now, tomography with neutrons allows us to gain deep insights into the interior of these objects without destroying them. In cooperation with Palermo University, HZB has studied objects taken from the bed of the Mediterranean Sea. From the richly detailed images, the archaeologists hope to trace back their origin and figure out the best way to restore them.
The authenticity of old master paintings: It has long been uncertain whether the painting “The Abduction of Rinaldo” from the Berlin Gemäldegalerie collection is an original by French painter Nicolas Poussin (1594 -1665). Tests at HZB have shown that pre-sketched trees were painted over with the same type and with identical colour pigments; for art historians, it was a sure sign that it is an original.
