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The last I heard, the ink is fading on the map, thus settling the
point. Am I wrong? Has anyone seen it lately?
Dee,
sceptical
On Dec 9, 2009, at 12:50 PM, David Bradbury wrote:
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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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Dee Longenbaugh
The Observatory, ABAA
299 North Franklin Street
Juneau, Alaska, 99801
www.observatorybooks.com
[email protected]
Since 1977
Alaska specialists
Lichen on the rock ignores a nearby lightning strike, and so it is
with cartographers.
B.E.W. Allen
_______________________________________________
MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography
hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht.
The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of
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Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for
the views of the author.
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