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A black cosmetic powder from an Iron Age tomb at Kani Koter in northwestern Iran was made chiefly with manganese oxides and natural graphite. The combination is the striking result: the study identifies natural graphite as a kohl ingredient for the first time in the ancient recipe record it reviews. Possible black iron oxides and minor clay were also present. The comparison with Egypt must remain limited, because Egyptian kohl was not a single formula and the Iranian result comes from one analyzed sample.
What was found in the Iranian kohl?
The material came from a black powder inside a large ceramic cosmetic container recovered from a tomb at Kani Koter, in Kurdistan Province, northwestern Iran. The cemetery lies in the hills near Dere Pemeyan, on the eastern fringes of the Assyrian Empire and close to the area associated with the Iron Age kingdom of Mannea.
The primary paper identified manganese black, chiefly the manganese-oxide mineral pyrolusite, together with natural graphite. It also discusses possible black iron oxides and a small amount of clay. The study describes the manganese-and-graphite combination as a previously unknown kohl recipe in the ancient material record reviewed by its authors.
The primary paper, “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),” first appeared online on 31 May 2025 and was published in Archaeometry, volume 68, supplement 1, pages S7–S21, in 2026. Read the peer-reviewed study.
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This is evidence about one powder, not proof that every Iranian or Assyrian cosmetic used the same ingredients. The result is important because it expands the known range of ancient eye-makeup materials and provides a rare directly analyzed example from the broader Assyrian cultural zone.
How did scientists identify the ingredients?
The primary paper reports several complementary methods rather than relying on the powder’s appearance alone. Each technique answers a different question about mineral phases, elemental composition and particle structure.
| Method | What it contributes | Result in the Kani Koter sample |
|---|---|---|
| X-ray powder diffraction | Identifies crystalline mineral phases in a powdered material | Supported manganese-oxide minerals and graphite-related phases |
| Micro-X-ray fluorescence | Maps elements in very small areas without consuming the whole sample | Showed the elemental distribution expected from manganese-rich and carbon-rich particles, with additional iron and clay-related signals |
| Micro-Raman spectroscopy | Uses molecular vibration signatures to distinguish minerals and carbon materials | Helped confirm pyrolusite and natural graphite |
| Field-emission scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry | Examines particle morphology and measures local elemental composition | Revealed the fine, flaky graphite and mineral grains associated with the black powder |
The exact powder base is not completely certain. Some clay minerals and other phases may have come from the ceramic container itself. The container could not be exported for analysis, so the available analysis could not fully separate ingredients deliberately added to the cosmetic from contamination or alteration caused by its vessel and burial environment.
Where did the sample come from?
Kani Koter was an Iron Age cemetery whose surviving grave goods entered the Archaeological Museum of Sanandaj after the site was looted and destroyed in 2016. Human remains were lost. As a result, the surviving evidence cannot independently determine the sex of the person associated with the container, and the authors note that more than one individual may have been buried in the tomb.
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The assemblage was unusually rich. It included weapons, horse equipment, vessels, personal ornaments, a bronze mirror, earpicks, cosmetic containers and applicators. Those objects place the kohl within a broader practice of personal adornment, but they do not reveal exactly who used it, how often it was applied or whether the container belonged to one person throughout its use.
A second, smaller container was also found in the burial, but it held too little material for analysis. The cemetery’s associated settlement has not been excavated, and other Kani Koter containers have not yet supplied a comparative chemical dataset.
Why is the graphite significant?
Natural graphite is the unusual component. Ancient black cosmetics are often discussed in terms of lead minerals, manganese compounds, iron oxides, silica-rich materials or organic colorants. In this study’s review of earlier evidence, no other ancient kohl recipe had established this same combination of manganese oxides and natural graphite.
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The authors note that graphite deposits occur in the Zagros region. They suggest that nearby mineral availability may have influenced recipe choices, although the sample does not prove a particular mine, workshop or trade route. Graphite’s reflective quality could have given the cosmetic a subtly metallic appearance, while its flaky particles may have helped it adhere to skin. Those are material-property interpretations, not direct evidence of what the wearer intended or how the powder looked after application.
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Graphite also helps explain why visual inspection would be inadequate. A black powder can contain several dark minerals whose optical appearance overlaps. The combination of diffraction, elemental mapping, Raman signatures and electron microscopy is what makes the ingredient identification persuasive.
How does this differ from ancient Egyptian kohl?
The contrast is between documented samples, not between two uniform national recipes. Analyses of Egyptian kohl have found diverse formulations, including inorganic materials and organic substances from plant or animal sources. Many Egyptian examples are lead-based, while others use manganese- or silica-rich ingredients. The Iranian sample differs because it combines manganese oxides with natural graphite and because no organic constituents were detected in the material tested.
| Evidence set | Materials reported | What can safely be concluded |
|---|---|---|
| Kani Koter, Iran | Chiefly manganese oxides, including pyrolusite, plus natural graphite; possible black iron oxides and minor clay | One directly analyzed Iron Age recipe used a manganese-and-graphite combination |
| Egyptian kohl analyses | Varied inorganic recipes, often lead-based but also manganese- or silica-based, with some organic ingredients | Egyptian kohl was chemically diverse rather than a single standard formula |
| Shahdad and Shahr-i Sokhta, Iran | Lead-bearing compounds in previously published samples | Other Iranian contexts used different recipes |
| Hasanlu tube | Once identified as graphite, later determined to contain antimony oxide | Mineral identification can change when older samples are reexamined with better methods |
| Estark–Joshaqan, Iran | White, grey and orangish materials containing lead-based compounds with manganese and iron oxides | Iron Age cosmetic powders in Iran were compositionally varied |
| Tutub, Diyala region of Iraq | Two earlier samples reported as manganese-rich | Manganese-based black cosmetics were present elsewhere in the region |
These comparisons do not establish a simple “Iranian versus Egyptian” divide. The evidence instead points to recipes that changed with local geology, cultural setting, chronology and possibly the intended appearance or handling properties of the product.
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What does “no organic constituents detected” mean?
It does not prove that the original cosmetic contained no organic material. The study offers two explanations: the powder may have been made entirely from inorganic ingredients, or organic components may have been present when the kohl was prepared and later degraded beyond detection during burial.
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Organic compounds are especially vulnerable to alteration over long periods. Heat, moisture, microbial activity, oxygen and interaction with a container can destroy or transform residues. The scientifically accurate wording is therefore “no organic constituents were detected in the analyzed sample,” not “the recipe contained no organics.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What other regional evidence shows about Iron Age cosmetics
The comparison material assembled in the study shows why one spectacular find should not be generalized. Earlier Iranian samples from Shahdad and Shahr-i Sokhta contained lead-bearing compounds. At Hasanlu, a tube once described as containing graphite was later shown to contain antimony oxide, demonstrating the danger of treating an old mineral assignment as definitive.
Five Iron Age containers from Estark–Joshaqan held white, grey and orange-looking substances. Their analyses found lead compounds together with manganese and iron oxides, indicating that cosmetic color and texture could be adjusted with multiple mineral additions. Two earlier kohl samples from Tutub in the Diyala region of Iraq were reported as manganese-rich, providing a regional parallel for manganese use without reproducing the Kani Koter graphite result.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteTaken together, these examples support a model of local experimentation and resource use. They do not provide a prevalence rate for any ingredient, because the surviving sample count is small and the containers were not selected through a modern population survey.
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What are the study’s main limitations?
- One analyzed sample: The manganese-and-graphite recipe is documented for one container, not for all Kani Koter burials or for Iranian cosmetics generally.
- Incomplete context: Looting and the loss of human remains prevent secure identification of the user and limit reconstruction of burial circumstances.
- Container effects: Clay and other minerals may derive partly from the ceramic vessel, which was unavailable for export and full analysis.
- Unanalyzed objects: The smaller container did not contain enough powder, and other regional containers remain untested in the comparisons discussed by the authors.
- Degraded ingredients: The absence of detected organics cannot distinguish an originally inorganic recipe from one whose organics disappeared.
- No proven supply chain: The presence of graphite in the Zagros region makes local availability plausible, but the study does not identify a mine, trader or workshop.
These limits narrow the claim; they do not erase the discovery. The mineral evidence is still a direct measurement of an Iron Age cosmetic powder and fills a documented gap in material evidence from the Assyrian cultural zone.
Why this discovery matters for ancient technology
Kohl was both a visible cosmetic and a prepared material. Its makers had to select, grind and combine substances that produced a usable color and texture. The Kani Koter sample shows that Iron Age craftspeople could draw on manganese minerals and graphite rather than following one universal lead-based model.
The finding also demonstrates the value of reanalyzing museum objects with several techniques. A black cosmetic that looks ordinary can preserve evidence about mineral procurement, processing choices and regional connections. The authors describe the work as the first material insight into the actual composition of kohl in the broader Assyrian cultural zone, addressing a major gap in knowledge of Iron Age Middle Eastern cosmetic practice.
In a statement quoted by Chemistry World, Silvia Amicone of the University of Tübingen’s archaeometry working group said the discovery adds new details to knowledge of personal adornment and appearance in the ancient world. Read the science-news report.
Quick Recap
What can be said with confidence?
- A black powder from one Iron Age III tomb at Kani Koter was analyzed using multiple mineralogical and microscopic techniques.
- Its black color came chiefly from manganese oxides and natural graphite, with possible black iron oxides and minor clay.
- Natural graphite is the study’s distinctive novelty in the ancient kohl record it reviews.
- Egyptian kohl evidence is also diverse, so the comparison concerns analyzed recipes rather than fixed national formulas.
- No organic constituents were detected, but degradation prevents a firm conclusion that the original cosmetic was entirely inorganic.
- Regional examples support varied, locally influenced recipes rather than one standard Iron Age formula.
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