Eye makeup in Northwestern Iran at the time of the Assyrian Empire: a new kohl recipe based on manganese and graphite from Kani Koter (Iron Age III)

Kohl was ubiquitous in ancient Egypt and the Middle East, and routinely included among the toiletries deposited in burials. For Egypt, kohl recipes are increasingly well-studied and known to use a range of inorganic and organic ingredients. Although these are often lead-based, manganese- and silicon-rich compounds are also attested. For the Middle East, our still limited knowledge is now augmented by analysis of a new kohl sample from a burial in the Iron Age cemetery of Kani Koter in Northwestern Iran. Our integrated multidisciplinary approach shows that the black colouration was most likely obtained by mixing manganese oxides with natural graphite.