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Assuming that the McCrone and Brown/Clark analyses did not mysteriously
select freakishly anomalous sampling locations, I'd have to ask why,
despite the wide variety of analytical techniques used, there have been
no reports of the significant quantities of tannic acid you would expect
to find in the Vinland Map ink if Jim Enterline's theory is correct. The
problem for Jacqueline Olin's theory is the genuinely freakish ratio of
titanium to iron (resulting from both a surplus of titanium and a
shortage of iron, relative to known iron gall inks) in the Vinland Map
ink in situ. The particles from the map "fold" are another matter
entirely, both figuratively and literally; and my strong suspicion is
that most of them were never part of the ink used for drawing the map.
As for the conference- yes. Following the embarrassing episode of the
Harbottle paper in Archaeometry (2008), and the apparent damb squib of
the Larsen presentation at the 2009 ICHC, there remains at least the
final demolition and reinterpretation of the 1985 Cahill results- and I
believe that combining the numerous existing studies with the
anticipated analysis of the chemicals in the parchment will bring us
very close to a definitive statement on the "how" and the "when" of the
Vinland Map. However, barring a surprise confession from some talented
but probably very obscure person, I doubt very much that we will ever
fully understand the "why", let alone the "who".
David Bradbury
Whitehaven, England
James Enterline wrote:
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:
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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