The study of written artefacts requires technical equipment that suits the objects’ characteristics and needs, their location, and the kind of research question and analysis intended. A threefold laboratory system supports the Centre’s study of written artefacts both in Hamburg and abroad, in museums and archives, and in the field.

Its first component is a portable Mobile Lab for worldwide non-invasive analyses of written artefacts. The Mobile Lab operates frequently across Europe and beyond, featuring, amongst other equipment, XRF-spectrometers, a multispectral imaging system and FTIR spectroscopy. Secondly, the Cluster uses the highly effective stationary High Performance Labs at Universität Hamburg, the TUHH and at DESY. These, too, fulfil the highest technological standards and are continually updated, with for example, a dust-free cleanroom that is dedicated exclusively to the analysis of ancient DNA and a laser-coupled HR-ICP-MS as the most recent addition. The modular Container Lab fills the gap between high performance and in situ analysis using portable equipment. It is designed to be transported to sites, museums, and archives around the world and can be equipped with specific problem-oriented lab cells and with the required materials for minimally invasive material analyses.

Our Written Artefact Profiling Guide introduces the scientific methods and analytical tools available at the CSMC for the study of materials used to produce written artefacts.