The book Relics @ the Lab, an Analytical Approach to the Study of
Relics includes a series of studies presented at the first
international workshop Relics @ the Lab organized by the Royal Institute
of Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels, Belgium (27-28 October
2016). The papers cover a large variety of themes as well as analytical
methods. Some papers focus on the primary relics while others deal with
the nature and origin of secondary as well as tertiary relics. The first
group of papers emphases on the archaeological authenticity of the
relics, the second group elucidate the use, additions and manipulations
of the relics through the ages.
The applied analytical
techniques are very divers. Radiocarbon and physical anthropology are
the main tools to study the primary relics, while dye analysis, imaging
techniques, textile analysis and dendrochronology are used to study the
secondary and tertiary relics. Sometimes unexpected techniques, like the
analysis of writing ink or the determination of plants and excrements,
complete the wide range of analytical methods used to understand the
origin, nature and context of the relics.
Academics
as well as professionals working in archaeology, art history, museum
labs and conservation sciences will find this an invaluable reference
source.