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Tuesday!
Hello, Curse and Coffee friends,
Today, we look at ancient cover-ups.
Hit reply and let us know what you think (we read all of your kind words).
Coffee at the ready…
The Big Sip
The take: The oldest known cover-up wasn't political. It was cosmetic.
What happened: Researchers at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum found 3,300-year-old correction fluid on a Book of the Dead papyrus made for royal scribe Ramose, used to slim down a painted jackal god called Wepwawet.
Why it matters: Egyptian craftspeople mixed calcite, huntite, and flecks of yellow orpiment (a toxic, arsenic-based pigment) into a paste that matched the papyrus colour. Engineering a formula to disappear.
What to watch: Senior Egyptologist Helen Strudwick says she's spotted the same technique on papyri at the British Museum and Cairo's Egyptian Museum, so expect more institutions to start re-examining their scrolls under infrared.
Light infrared photography confirmed the white lines were painted over the original figure to alter its shape.
Sponsor Break
Before we slurp into today’s brew…
Here are some wordies from today’s sponsor.
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