Neutron beam scanning helped researchers solve the mystery of a gilded medieval pendant found in the German town of Mainz in 2008. Non-invasive and non-destructive techniques have revealed the small bone fragment inside the pendant, probably religious. relics.
According to the TUM website, an interdisciplinary team from the Leibniz Center for Archeology (LEIZA) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) investigated the pendant found in 2008 from a medieval landfill in Mainz, Germany . However, fearing damage to the artifact, they were unable to open the pendant, even though they believed it contained something.
Non-destructive testing of exquisite medieval pendant
Since researchers felt that physically opening the 800-year-old pendant would irreversibly damage it, they turned to non-destructive techniques to learn its secrets, Medievalists said. .net reported.
“Non-destructive research with neutrons is especially useful, because we cannot just open the pendant and look inside,” said Matthais Heinzel, a restorer at LEIZA. Centuries of corrosion had severely damaged the entire thing and especially the locking mechanism; opening the pendant means destroying it and leaving no hope of repair.”
Tomography and Neutron Rapid Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) were used to scan the interior of the pendant, where five separate packages made of silk and linen were revealed. Each package contains small pieces of bone, believed to be the relics of a saint.
The gilded bronze pendant is decorated on the outside with enamel figures of Jesus, the four evangelists, the Virgin Mary and four female saints. It dates from the 12th century and researchers believe it originated from a workshop in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony.
Neutron tomography reveals the inside of a medieval relic pendant. It was discovered that it may contain the skeletal remains of a saint. (Sabine Steidl, LEIZA)
Neutron analysis revealed organic content
Heinzel cleaned the corrosive residue from the pendant with 500 hours of hard work. Initial investigations into the pendant, which is about 2 inches (6 cm) high, 2 inches (6 cm) wide and half an inch (1 cm) thick, suggest it may contain religious relics inside.
However, when the first X-rays were unsuccessful in showing the artifact’s organic content, the team turned to neutron scanning. Unlike X-rays, neutrons can penetrate metals and make organic substances visible. TUM’s Dr. Burkhard Schillinger conducted a neutron tomography scan, which allowed the packets containing bone fragments to be seen. The individual elements are then distinguished by activating them with PGAA to emit gamma radiation.
Instrumentation scientist Dr. Burkhard Schillinger at the radio and tomography facility at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center (MLZ) of the Neutron Research Institute. (© Bernhard Ludewig )
However, scientists could not accurately determine the identity of the remains. “We cannot say whether these bones belong to a saint or not and if so, which saint. Usually reliquary packages contain a strip of parchment with the name of the saint. However, in this case, unfortunately we cannot see one,” Heinzel commented in the TUM release.
A rare type of Phylactery
During the restoration process, Heinzel found a piece of string in the pendant’s hanging hole. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the rope was made of silk. As Heinzel said, “This is the first evidence that such pendants may have been worn around the neck with a silk cord. Using neutron tomography at TUM, we can also measure the fiber thickness and fiber spacing of the textile on the inside.”
German medieval pendants have been identified as a very rare type of phylactery. Pictured: Another leather and silver phylactery case made in Germany in 1885 (Brooklyn Museum/CC BY SA 3.0)
To date, only three other reliquaries of this type, known as phylacteries, have been found. Phylactery comes from the Greek term meaning to keep or keep safe. They are worn on the body, often hanging around the neck.
The reliquary was handed over to the Directorate for Cultural Heritage at the Mainz State Archaeological Directorate and is temporarily on display in the medieval exhibition “ Aurea Magontia – Mainz in the Middle Ages ” at the State Museum Mainz.
It will be interesting to see whether future technological developments can allow scientists to determine with a greater degree of certainty if the reliquary actually contains the relics of a saint and which saint. can be assigned to them. Apparently, it is someone who is said to have powerful protection for the wearer.
Top image: A beautifully restored medieval pendant has been discovered to contain bones, possibly the relics of a saint. Source: Sabine Steidl, LEIZA
by Sahir Pandey
