[split] Jorge's Retracer Thread: darker ink, retracing of text and drawings

[Jorge_Stolfi]

Is there enough organic carbon in the ink and is there a way to separate the ink carbon from the vellum carbon? I think I read somewhere that dating the ink is unfeasible even with the most advanced modern tech.

I don't think it can be done, either -- yet.  

Dried and set iron-gall ink is a 3D polymer of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. molecules held together by iron(III) ions.  With maybe other additives like gum arabic.  So in theory the ink can be C14 dated.  The problem is that, with current technology, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. of pure carbon, even with the best technology.  And several times that if the sample is a carbon compound.  I don't know how much ink there is in one of the VMS glyphs, but I guess it is at least a couple orders of magnitude less than that.

All the best, --stolfi