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Secondary contamination of surfaces of examined cuneiform tablets (Case study)

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2020

Abstract

The use of suitable packaging is an improtant, although often neglected, part of complex preventive care of cultural heritage objects. Obviously, it could not have been the case in times when the knowledge of preventive care was only sporadical, however.

Therefore, occasionally one can see, in everyday practice, examples of historical packaging which, viewed by today's standards, seem rather controversial. The presented study presents the results of originally unintended research of unknown blue particles situated on the surface of the studied cuneiform tablets.

During the research of these particles some of the uptodate analytical methods have been applied (e.g. Raman spectroscopy).

As can be seen from the results, the source of these particles, causing secondary contamination of the studied objects, was the historical packaging material, or rather, the paper used to coat the surface of boxes in which the tablets had been deposited for a long period of time.