Sometimes, none of the above techniques are all that helpful.\u00a0 And the epigrapher just has to examine an artifact in person.\u00a0 Perhaps, the contrast between the inscription and the matrix is too low.\u00a0 Or maybe the inscription is too shallow to see or photograph clearly.\u00a0 There is one more advanced technique that is helpful.\u00a0 While not strictly speaking new, strobe lighting has recently found new usefulness in epigraphy.<\/p>\n

When you look at a stela with only discrete color differences between inscription and matrix, your vision adjusts faster than your brain can figure out what you’re seeing. In a tenth of a second, your visual cortex becomes saturated and those discrete color differences between inscription and matrix wash out. <\/span><\/p>\n

What strobe lighting does is prevents your visual cortex from saturating. This way you can continue to see the fine differences between the inscription and stone matrix. The net result is that visual features not seen previously begin to emerge.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

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Last week, we touched upon three new technologies that have revolutionized the field of epigraphy.\u00a0 These technologies have changed the way epigraphers see their inscriptions.\u00a0 Today, we will introduce another four technologies that have changed epigraphy in the 21st century. Multi-Spectral Photography With the proliferation of digital cameras, many people now have a second (or…<\/p>\n