biostudies-literatureDal Fovo ARegione Toscana5268https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8433800biostudies-literatureUnknown26(17)Fayum mummy portraits, painted around 2000 years ago, represent a fascinating fusion of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman funerary and artistic traditions. Examination of these artworks may provide insight into the Roman Empire's trade and economic and social structure during one of its most crucial yet still hazy times of transition. The lack of proper archaeological documentation of the numerous excavated portraits currently prevents their chronological dating, be it absolute or relative. So far, their production period has been defined essentially on the basis of the relevant differences in their pictorial style. Our study introduces the use of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) to assess the age of a fragment of an encaustic painting belonging to the corpus of the Fayum portraits. The unexpecMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)Multi-Analytical Characterization and Radiocarbon Dating of a Roman Egyptian Mummy Portrait.PMC8433800POR FSE 2014-2020Fedi MFederico GLiccioli LBarone SFontana RDal Fovo AfalseMulti-Analytical Characterization and Radiocarbon Dating of a Roman Egyptian Mummy Portrait.Fayum mummy portraits, painted around 2000 years ago, represent a fascinating fusion of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman funerary and artistic traditions. Examination of these artworks may provide insight into the Roman Empire's trade and economic and social structure during one of its most crucial yet still hazy times of transition. The lack of proper archaeological documentation of the numerous excavated portraits currently prevents their chronological dating, be it absolute or relative. So far, their production period has been defined essentially on the basis of the relevant differences in their pictorial style. Our study introduces the use of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) to assess the age of a fragment of an encaustic painting belonging to the corpus of the Fayum portraits. The unexpec2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Aug2025-04-19T18:17:22.489Z2022-02-11T10:37:57.827ZS-EPMC84338003450070110.3390/molecules26175268