Metallic ink was used to inscribe scrolls regarded
as an archaeological wonder, according to scientists. The discovery pushes back
the date for the first use of metallic ink by several centuries. The
Herculaneum scrolls were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 and
are charred and fragile. Previous efforts to read them, over many centuries,
has damaged or destroyed some of the scrolls. The task of reading the surviving
scrolls has fallen to scientists using technology such as the European
synchrotron, which produces X-rays 100 billion times brighter than the X-rays
used in hospitals. Last year, physicists used the 3D X-ray imaging technique to
decipher writing in the scrolls. Now they have gleaned that the papyrus
contains high levels of lead, which they say could only have come from its
intentional use in the ink. "We found some metal - some lead - in the ink,
which is supposed to come four centuries after," said Dr Emmanuel Brun of
the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France.
March 22; http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35865470
The news
on the Herculaneum scrolls comes just a day before the lunar eclipse of March
23. A chart for the eclipse at Grenoble, France has it placed very
significantly on the meridian. The Sun on the MC is conjunct Mercury square
Hades. Since Mercury rules documents and
the TNP Hades, among other things, refers to the past ,[1] the simplest meaning
of the combination is an ancient document. But, in addition, Martha Wescott
gives us the following delineations [2].
Mercury-Hades: Aspect indicates
the quality of progressive, analytical skill – understanding how “items”
constitute a whole and the causal connection and erection of data – thus the
ability to parse and “build a case from the ground up;” to investigate facts or
ideas; to work out the details – even if it means attention to picayune,
obscure fact; “dead” languages(such as Latin)
or perusal of classics.
[2] The
Orders of Light; Martha Lang-Wescott (p.52)
Comments
Post a Comment