Investigation of Organic Materials From the ‘Royal’ Burials of Xiongnu (Noin‐Ula,Mongolia) by Srxrf and XAFS Methods

The burials of famous Xiongnu people are a unique source of information about Xiongnu culture, due to the variety of organic findings. SRXRF analysis of hair, clay, bones, teeth and woollen cloth was carried out. An anomalously high copper content was observed in all hair samples, whereas the levels of copper in bone and clay were low. To define the hair morphology and the elemental distribution in the hair cross‐section, high‐resolution X‐ray computed tomography (HRXCT) and energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. The X‐ray absorption fine‐structure method (XAFS) was applied to determine the local copper environment. The majority of the copper species in the hair and enamel samples are present as Cu²⁺ cations in a distorted octahedral (4 + 2) coordination, surrounded by light ligands (oxygen/nitrogen). A similar distorted octahedral coordination is typical for both inorganic mixed oxide/hydroxide Cu nanosystems and metal–organic Cu complexes (with oxygen/nitrogen).     

北宋金银书《妙法莲华经》卷的修复保护

1986年,史树青、刘光启等先生在青岛讲学时发现胶县博物馆收藏的一卷北宋金银书《妙法莲华经》,随后,在即墨市博物馆找到其余六卷,凑成一部完整的七卷二十八品《妙法莲华经》。2008年,故宫博物院承担了对即墨市六卷《妙法莲华经》的修复,作者在深入了解其经卷历史背景的同时,对修复的难点及技术进行了分析。修复完成后,折痕严重、残损破旧的经卷恢复了平整、洁净的外观,使国宝得到有效的保护。     

New discoveries in a Nabataean tomb. Burial practices and ‘plant jewellery’ in ancient Hegra (Madâ’in Sâlih,Saudi Arabia)

The excavation of tomb IGN 117 in Madâ’in Sâlih, ancient Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, produced a large amount of bones, objects and materials (leather, fabric, fruit, wood, amorphous organic substances) of the Nabataean‐Roman period (first to early fourth century AD). Two pieces of fabric and leather are of particular interest because they contained pierced dates (Phoenix dactylifera) strung together using date‐palm leaflets. These exceptional discoveries are poorly attested in Near Eastern funerary contexts. Together with other data from Madâ’in Sâlih, the southern Near East and Egypt, this interdisciplinary analysis leads to the reconstruction of part of the funerary practices related to the preservation and preparation of the body that occurred in tomb IGN 117. Finally, the analysis allows the questioning of the symbolic role of plant jewellery and the date palm in a funerary context.