CARVES: Sampling of the Ivory Panels for DNA and Isotope Analysis
CARVES - Context And Reuse – the Valued Experience of Sustainability
A BELSPO Policy for Science Project
Yesterday marked an important step in the CARVES project: a sample was taken from the edge of one of the ivory side panels. With the care and dexterity that characterises a conservator, Violette Demonty (Polychrome Wood Sculpture Studio) sampled the surface and the deeper layers separately.
The sample will first be used for DNA analysis by Dr. Gontran Sonet (RBINS). Dr. Christophe Snoeck (VUB) will then carry out an experimental analysis, attempting to use the residual fractions from this process to also perform strontium isotope analysis.
This combined approach may help us learn more about the environment in which the elephant lived, another nice illustration of how different disciplines within CARVES work together to unravel history.
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