Study and Analyses of Pigments in Minoan Larnakes from the Peripheral Unit of Rethymnon (Crete) Applying Non-Destructive Techniques: Preliminary Results

The aim of the paper is to present the first results of the study and the analysis of the pigments, which were used for the decoration of the larnakes from the Peripheral Unit of Rethymnon (Crete), dating back to the Late Bronze Age, specifically in the LM III period (1390-1070 BC). For the analysis and the identification of the pigments on the colοured surfaces of the larnakes were used the non-destructive spectroscopic methods XRF and RAMAN. Due to the large number of the larnaκes and their extraordinarily high archaeological value, which makes it impossible to transport them, the use of portable Raman and XRF spectrometers for the analyzes carried out in the archaeological warehouse of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Rethymnon, as well as in the old Archaeological Museum and in the contemporary exhibition of the new Archaeological Museum of Rethymnon. The analysis revealed the use of a variety of pigments, both organic and inorganic, which appear in the majority of the larnax, as basic paints or as random admixtures or as oxidation of mineral paints. The preliminary results of this paper add another lost link to the ancient technology of Minoan civilization and surprise us with the use of unknown –until now- raw materials, both domestic and imported, such as the realgar, Egyptian blue etc.