Red Earth: Mineralogy and Material Histories of Miltos in Antiquity

This project focuses on a vibrant pigment from Mediterranean antiquity, utilizing a multi-analytical archeometric approach to understand how its mineralogy informed the ways in which it was applied in ancient craft practices. Miltos was the Greek term for an iron oxide pigment, now classified as red earth or ochre: the most abundant pigment both geologically and in terms of global usage. However, there was a particular form of miltos that possessed a distinct mineralogical and elemental composition, separating it from other forms of red ochre. This pigment possessed unique protective and beneficial properties, which saw it favored above other available colorants, and resulted in its trade and circulation being rigorously controlled. By drawing on an interdisciplinary approach across materials science, archeology, art history, and philology, the project reconstructs the cultural history of miltos, exploring the social and cultural dimensions of craft, technology, and pharmacology which demarcated miltos as not just a color, but a precious commodity. Within the “Metals, Minerals, and the Life Cycle” Working Group, the project explores how human knowledge of the unique markers in minerals informed technological innovation and cross-craft applications, tracing the geological substrates and craft practices that shaped the material realities of antiquity.