Painted Plaster Fragments in the ‘Public Building’ At Migdal

Painted plaster fragments from the recently discovered Early Roman ‘Public Building’ at Migdal, Israel were noted to be of multiple colors common to the palette of this period: white, yellow, red, greenish-blue and black. At a contemporary nearby site, the Migdal synagogue, some pigments were imported, others were produced artificially; therefore, it seems necessary to analyze the pigments from the Public Building and compare them with those of the synagogue. We analyzed the chemical nature of the pigments used for the colors at the Public Building by using non-invasive diagnostics such as fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and X ray fluorescence (XRF), as well as minimal invasive methods of Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Analysis showed that the green pigment was imported whereas others were likely local (red and yellow). However, the plaster had been painted using the secco technique, unlike the nearby Migdal synagogue, which was painted with the more technically proficient fresco technique. Therefore, despite the simple workmanship of the painted plaster, the presence of celadon in the greenishblue pigment indicates that the patrons who requested the paintings had the means to acquire long-distance trade items.