[size=-1] When it comes to cosmetics, the ancient Romans knew what they were doing.[/size]
[size=-1] Scientists have unearthed a small tin canister dating back to the middle of the second century AD in an excavated Roman temple precinct in London that contains a sophisticated white cream that could rival today's top cosmetics. [/size]
[size=-1] "It is quite a complicated little mixture," Richard Evershed, an analytical chemist at the University of Bristol in south-western England, told Reuters on Wednesday. [/size]
[size=-1] "Perhaps they didn't understand the chemistry of everything but they obviously knew what they were doing." [/size]
[size=-1] The pot, measuring 2.4 x 2 inches, is thought to be the only Roman tin of cream of its kind to be found intact and in such good condition. [/size]
[size=-1] It was discovered in a waterlogged ditch preserved under wooden planks in thick layers of mud. [/size]
[size=-1] The scientists, who reported the findings in the journal Nature, think the whitish cream was probably worn by fashionable Roman women. A fair complexion was popular in Roman times, according to the researchers. [/size]
[size=-1] "We're speculating that it would have been some sort of foundation cream," Evershed added. [/size]
[size=-1] The cream consists of about 40 percent animal fat -- most likely from sheep or cattle -- 40 percent starch and tin oxide. The fat forms the creamy base and the tin oxide makes the mixture opaque white. [/size]
[size=-1] "As far as I can tell, the tin oxide was quite inert so it wouldn't cause any dermatological problems," said Evershed.
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[size=-1]Full Story
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[size=-1] Scientists have unearthed a small tin canister dating back to the middle of the second century AD in an excavated Roman temple precinct in London that contains a sophisticated white cream that could rival today's top cosmetics. [/size]
[size=-1] "It is quite a complicated little mixture," Richard Evershed, an analytical chemist at the University of Bristol in south-western England, told Reuters on Wednesday. [/size]
[size=-1] "Perhaps they didn't understand the chemistry of everything but they obviously knew what they were doing." [/size]
[size=-1] The pot, measuring 2.4 x 2 inches, is thought to be the only Roman tin of cream of its kind to be found intact and in such good condition. [/size]
[size=-1] It was discovered in a waterlogged ditch preserved under wooden planks in thick layers of mud. [/size]
[size=-1] The scientists, who reported the findings in the journal Nature, think the whitish cream was probably worn by fashionable Roman women. A fair complexion was popular in Roman times, according to the researchers. [/size]
[size=-1] "We're speculating that it would have been some sort of foundation cream," Evershed added. [/size]
[size=-1] The cream consists of about 40 percent animal fat -- most likely from sheep or cattle -- 40 percent starch and tin oxide. The fat forms the creamy base and the tin oxide makes the mixture opaque white. [/size]
[size=-1] "As far as I can tell, the tin oxide was quite inert so it wouldn't cause any dermatological problems," said Evershed.
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[size=-1]Full Story
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