This paper aims to expand our understanding of the processes involved in the production of the artificial pigment Egyptian blue through the scientific examination of pigments found in the first century BCE workshop of the Greek island of Kos. There, 136 Egyptian blue pellets were brought to light, including successfully produced pellets, as well as partially successful and unsuccessful products. This study is based on the examination of eighteen samples obtained from pellets of various textures and tones of blue, including light and dark blue pigments, coarse and fine-grained materials, and one unsuccessful pellet of dark green/grey colour. The samples were examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and micro-Raman spectroscopy. These complementary microanalytical techniques provide localised information about the chemical and mineralogical composition of this multicomponent material, at a single-grain level. The results shed light on the firing procedure and indicate possible sources for raw materials (beach sand, copper alloys), as well as demonstrating the use of a low-alkali starting mixture. Moreover, two different process for the production of light blue pigments were identified: (a) decreased firing time and (b) grinding of the initially produced pellet and mixing with cobalt-containing material.

中文翻译：

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来自公元前一世纪BCE工场（希腊）的埃及蓝丸：通过光学显微镜，扫描电子显微镜-X射线能量色散光谱和显微拉曼光谱进行的微观分析研究

本文旨在通过对希腊科斯岛公元前一世纪BCE工作坊中发现的颜料的科学检查，扩大对人造颜料埃及蓝生产过程的理解。在那里，发现了136颗埃及蓝色小球，包括成功生产的小球以及部分成功和不成功的产品。这项研究基于对18种样品的检查，这些样品是从各种质地和蓝色色调的颗粒中获得的，包括浅色和深蓝色颜料，粗颗粒和细颗粒材料以及一个不成功的深绿色/灰色颗粒。通过光学显微镜，扫描电子显微镜，能量色散X射线光谱法（SEM-EDS）和显微拉曼光谱法检查样品。这些互补的微量分析技术可在单颗粒水平上提供有关此多组分材料的化学和矿物组成的局部信息。结果揭示了烧成过程，并指出了可能的原料来源（沙滩，铜合金），并证明了使用低碱原料混合物。此外，确定了两种不同的生产浅蓝色颜料的方法：（a）减少烧成时间；（b）研磨最初生产的颗粒并与含钴材料混合。并证明了使用低碱的起始混合物。此外，确定了两种不同的生产浅蓝色颜料的方法：（a）减少烧成时间；（b）研磨最初生产的颗粒并与含钴材料混合。并证明了使用低碱的起始混合物。此外，确定了两种不同的生产浅蓝色颜料的方法：（a）减少烧成时间；（b）研磨最初生产的颗粒并与含钴材料混合。