The Metallic Sounds: A Microanalytical Study on the Production of Armenian Church Bells from Iran.

There are a considerable number of church bells in museums, examples include the museum of the Vank Cathedral and the Treasury of Armenian Music in New Julfa, both located in Isfahan, Iran. These objects were collected from different Armenian churches and cathedrals in Iran and were dated to ca. 400-100 years ago.

Micro-Raman spectroscopy in the identification of wulfenite and vanadinite in a Sasanian painted stucco fragment of the Ghaleh Guri in Ramavand, western Iran.

This paper reports the results of studies performed on a painted stucco fragment excavated at the Ghaleh Guri in Ramavand, western Iran, and dated back to the late Sasanian period (224-651AD). Analytical studies including micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman), micro-X-ray spectrometry (μ-XRF) and optical microscopy showed that red lead and vermilion were used as main pigments on this fragment. Moreover, carbon black was diagnosed to thinly cover some parts of the red lead.