Writing in Colours

Project Group

The Project Group Writing in Colours focuses on the significant role of colours in written artefacts (WAs) and their influence on reader engagement, examining these aspects from symbolic and pragmatic perspectives. The group plans to study the use of colours in creating visual and spatial hierarchies, emphasising concepts and conveying values within the Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Near Eastern contexts between the Bronze Age and the Early Middle Ages. They intend to compile a representative corpus of coloured WAs, exploring various spatial and social settings, time periods, and manufacturing methods, to understand the contextual choices of colours made in different environments like religious, domestic, and public spaces. The PG will utilise cross-disciplinary methods, including archaeological, epigraphic, and papyrological research, Archaeometry, Mineralogy, and Chemometrics. Experimental archaeology will play an essential role in various project activities, including replicating ancient pigment and dye recipes. Key outputs from the PG will include an exhibition and a detailed database that categorises pigments and dyes, enhancing existing databases with specific features for this purpose.