Pigment analyses of the Qur'anic fragment SUB Cod. in scrin. 153a

Pigment analyses were performed in March 2024, with additional data acquired in September 2024, at the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC).
The results are published in: Marotta, G., Fedeli, A., Sathiyamani, S. et al. Archaeometric philology for the study of deteriorated and overlapping layers of ink: the colour code of an early Qur’anic fragment. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 140, 446 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06343-8

The data uploaded here was recorded with the following instruments:

Pigments’ surface characteristics were examined with a Keyence VHX-500 digital microscope with a wide-range zoom lens VH-Z100R, with a magnification ranging from 100× to 1000×.

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy measurements were performed using the imaging μ-XRF spectrometer Bruker M6 Jetstream with a Rh X-ray tube, with a 50 mm² Xflash SDD detector, and an adjustable measuring spot ranging from 50 to 650 µm. The measurements were conducted at 50 kV voltage and 600 μA current, with a spot size of 50 µm, an acquisition time of 20 ms per spot and a step size ranging between 50 and 100 μm. Spatial maps of chosen regions of interest were acquired on different folia, placing under each of them a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) plate over an aluminium plate to quench interference from lower leaves. The data were subjected to further evaluation and deconvolution on the instrument’s software.

Raman spectra for the pigments were acquired using a Renishaw inVia Raman spectrometer. The infrared laser (300 mW, 785 nm, operated at a power ranging from the 1% and the 6% of the maximum laser power) and the green laser (100 mW, 532 nm operated at the 2% of the maximum laser power) were used for the acquisition of the spectra, recorded under a microscope with 100×  long-distance objective, with an accumulation of 50 scans of 1 s each. The measurements in the extended mode were acquired in the 0–3000 cm⁻¹ range with an accumulation of 10 scans of 1 s each and a 1 maximum pixel overlap step.

Vis–NIR spectrophotometry was performed with a LabSpec 4 HR (Malvern-Panalytical) measuring pigments reflection of visible and near infrared light (from 350 to 2500 nm) with 2mm diameter probe.

The data labelling follows the CSMC Artefact Profiling Lab Standardised System for the Labelling of Analytical Data  (https://doi.org/10.25592/uhhfdm.14853)