title: Technique based on LED multispectral imaging and multivariate analysis for monitoring the conservation state of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
abstract: The aim of this project is the development of a noninvasive technique based on LED multispectral imaging (MSI) for monitoring the conservation state of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) collection. It is well-known that changes in the parchment reflectance drive the transition of the scrolls from legible to illegible. Capitalizing on this fact, we will use spectral imaging to detect changes in the reflectance before they become visible to the human eye. The technique uses multivariate analysis and statistical process control theory. The present study was carried out on a "sample" parchment of calfskin. The monitoring of the surface of a commercial modern parchment aged consecutively for 2 h and 6 h at 80 °C and 50% relative humidity (ASTM) was performed at the Imaging Lab of the Library of Congress (Washington, DC, U.S.A.). MSI is here carried out in the vis-NIR range limited to 1 μm, with a number of bands of 13 and bandwidths that range from about 10 nm in UV to 40 nm in IR. Results showed that we could detect and locate changing pixels, on the basis of reflectance changes, after only a few "hours" of aging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Viale T. Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy. marengoe@tin.it
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marengo
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manfredi
authors.forename: Orfeo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zerbinati
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Robotti
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mazzucco
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gosetti
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bearman
authors.forename: Fenella
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: France
authors.forename: Pnina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shor