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Dear Jacquie,
As you might expect, I agree wholeheartedly that insufficient serious
consideration has been given to "alternative" interpretations of the
VM ink. In particular, since the 1970's I have described an
experiment in which I simulated an alternative VM ink made from
plain tannin with the added iron salts erroneously misplaced. Such
an error is not out of line with a hasty scribe in brief possession
of a document to be copied, as has been assumed the case with the
VM. Nevertheless, some carbon might have been added for initial
visibility as was standard. I tried such an experiment without
adding any carbon, and the initial line was almost invisible, as
expected. However, after several months the line started to take on
a color that is identical with that of the lines on the
VM. Presumably this was the result of ambient trace iron salts in
the environment. During the subsequent decades, the color has not
become any darker, and still matches the VM. An additional
experiment might be to then add some carbon, and see if it tends to
separate out and flake away over time.
These results have been published several times to the knowledge of
the skeptics, and none seems to have tried it. Won't someone else
try this low tech process and report if I'm wrong? Maphist would be
a perfectly appropriate place to report such results without any new
conference. However, there are numerous other high-tech researches
going on as well as Jacquie's that would certainly justify a new conference.
Jim Enterline
At 02:02 PM 12/3/2009, Jacqueline Olin wrote:
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The discussion of a sand containing anatase as the source of
the anatase in the Vinland Map is a difficult one because the Map
anatase has been shown by electron microscopy to be in the form of
a precipitate. It has been reported that x-ray diffraction evidence
also supports a size of the anatase particles that supports
commercial production, however, those diffraction patterns have not
been published to my knowledge. The proposal that
precipiatated anatase may be present as the result of the action
of an acidic environment of the ink on ilmenite that may have been
present in the ink has been disputed on the basis of the size of
the anatase particles in the Map ink. A further discussion of this
point is important to the argument and a further examination of (1)
the data regarding the size of the anatase particles in the Map ink
and of (2)the form of titanium in other medieval inks that contain
titanium is needed. The latter is important because if ilmenite or
a byproduct of ilmenite is present in other medieval inks then this
information is relevant to the history of medieval iron gall inks
and their composition and condition. The suggestion that the
Vinland Map ink is a carbon ink rather than an iron gall ink must
also be given much more serious consideration. This should be a
consideration based on all of the information regarding the
analytical data from the Map ink and should include a consideration
of the ferrous iron particles reported by McCrone as found in the
crevice of the Map and identified.
Jacqueline Olin
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The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of
the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of
Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for
the views of the author.
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