An international team of scientists has discovered the presence of metal in the ink of two Herculaneum papyrus fragments proving that metals were used in ink several centuries earlier than previously believed.

The international team of scientists used a combination of synchrotron techniques on the ESRF’s ID21 beamline to study two fragments of papyrus and resolve the chemical composition of the ink.

Source: The Archaeology News Network: Metallic ink revealed in Herculaneum papyri