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Scientists using a new technique have discovered the colorful and once-hidden scenes in paintings of the ancient Etruscans, a group of people who flourished in the Italian peninsula around 2,500 years ago before Rome became powerful.
For example, they found new details in a painting of the “Monkey’s Tomb” and scenes from an underworld in another work of art.
The Etruscans created detailed paintings, but with the passage of time many of them are only partially visible and much of their color has been lost.
Related: 7 bizarre ancient cultures that history has forgotten
“A major problem is the significant loss of information on polychromy [colors] preserved paintings, paying special attention to certain specific colors due to their physico-chemical composition, said Gloria Adinolfi, researcher at Pegaso Srl Archeologia Arte Archeometria (a research institute), in a presentation given on January 8 during the annual virtual conference meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies.
The fact that some colors survive the passage of time better than others can give a distorted view of what old paintings looked like when they were painted, Adinolfi said. For example, certain shades of green tend not to survive well, while red often does, she says. “Red oaks generally seem more resilient, so sometimes reds dominate and alter the correct perception of the original polychromy of the pictorial setting,” Adinolfi said.
Reveal old paintings
To reveal the paintings, the scientists used a technique called hyperspectral multi-illumination (MHX) extraction, which involves taking dozens of images in the visible, infrared and ultraviolet strips of light and process them using statistical algorithms developed at the National Research Council of Italy in Pisa, said Vincenzo Palleschi, team member, principal investigator at the research council.
The technique can detect Egyptian blue, a color developed in ancient Egypt that “has a very specific response in a single spectral band,” Palleschi said. The team also analyzed the residual remnants of other remaining colors to help determine the colors of the paint.
By combining MHX and color analyzes, the team revealed extinct scenes from ancient Etruscan paintings. Researchers unveiled several examples during the presentation, including details of paintings depicting the Etruscan underworld showing rocks, trees and water.
In the Monkey’s Tomb, so named because a painting in the tomb shows a monkey on a tree, researchers have uncovered details of a painting of a person. To the naked eye, the painting looks like a red blur, but after the MHX and color scans were completed, the painting clearly showed a person carrying an object and details on their hair and face. The tomb was discovered in the 19th century but now with new technology the painting has become much more visible.
The team’s research is ongoing and more paintings may be revealed in the future.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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