Danger from Samarra

Some ninth century Iraqi artists may have literally died for their art, suggests new analysis of Iraqi stucco fragments from this period. A fragment, taken from the ancient palace-city of Samarra, contains three arsenic-based pigments that are known to be poisonous and may cause cancer upon exposure. . .

"The fragments are stored in a locked cabinet and only handled as little as possible by curators in the Museum’s Middle Eastern section who wear nitrile (special sturdy rubber) gloves," Mariam Rosser-Owen, curator of the Middle East collections at the museum, told Discovery News.

Lucia Burgio, a conservation scientist at the museum, added that researchers also might wear face masks and work in a "fume cupboard." If the object should go on display, it would be placed in a special case "to avoid any accidental contamination of members of the public."

Posted by David on January 22, 2007 3:46 PM