03 March 2024 , 20:32
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Bright red lipstick has been found from over 3,700 years ago in a rare discovery.
The cosmetic was discovered in a small ornate vial in Iran and could be the oldest known example in the world. The lip paint was unearthed in the Jiroft region of southeastern Iran in 2001, but recent radiocarbon dating has revealed it could have been made as far back as 1687 BCE.
A study published in the journal Scientific Reports says: "Ultimately, the deep red cosmetic is compatible with a lips colouring preparation-probably the earliest so far analytically reported." The mineral components of the reddish substance were identified as hematite, an oxide mineral producing a vibrant red colour. "The mixture, thus observed, bears a striking resemblance to the recipes of contemporary lipsticks," observes the study.
The chlorite vial (left) that contained the red lip paint and its contents (right) (M Vidale/F Zorzi/SWNS)The archaeological remains were first discovered when the Halil river (Kerman province, southeastern Iran) flooded its basin, hitting several graveyards of the 3rd millennium BCE. The study says: "After rich burials came to surface, locals engaged in a prolonged season of open-air lootings, during which thousands of precious artifacts were robbed and lost to the antiques market."
Many valuable artifacts in stone and copper were later recovered by Iranian security forces and eventually ended in the Jiroft archaeological Museum and other public collections at Kerman and Tehran. Although the precise provenience of the recovered finds will remain unknown, both the unmistakable style and the coherent assemblages confidently ascribe the greatest majority of the recovered lots to the local early Bronze age civilization, therefore to ancient Marhasi.
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