# Organic Materials Used for Giant Buddhas and Wall Paintings in Bamiyan, Afghanistan
## 3 Results
### Identification of Fatty Acids, Protein and Plant Gums by GC-MS  
A total of 86 paint samples were tested for binding media by GC-MS from four sites: Bamiyan, Foladi, Kakrak, and Qol-e Jalal. The samples were composed of several paint layers that were brittle and difficult to isolate so these layers were analyzed in bulk (surface coating, ground, paint layers, and earthen rendering). Samples were analyzed for specific binders based on previous results and prioritized based on sample size limitations. Ultimately, 58 paint samples were analyzed for plant gums, 57 for oils, waxes, and resins, and 32 for proteins. The results are summarized partially in Tables 4 and 5. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Sample** & **Cave** & **Description** & **P/S** & **A/P** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Protein** \\ _(Corr.Coeff.)_ \\ \end{tabular} & **Plant Gum** \\ \hline BMM035 & N(a) & resin, green, black, white ground, size & 3.1 & 1.8 & Protein & ND \\ \hline BMM040 & N(a) & red/oily red, white ground & 3.3 & 2.4 & NA & NA \\ \hline BMM054 & M & red, white ground & 1.9 & 1.3 & Egg (0.96) & Plant Gum \\ \hline BMM063 & B(d) & red and ground & 3.1 & 2.4 & Glue (0.98) & Tragacanth \\ \hline BMM083-2 & F(c) & black layer, yellow glaze, white ground & 2.7 & 2.4 & Protein & NA \\ \hline BMM112 * & J(c) & green on white ground & 1.3 & 0.4 & NA & NA \\ \hline BMM113 * & J(c) & green on white ground & 1.6 & 0.3 & NA & Tragacanth \\ \hline BMM135 * & K\({}_{3}\) & brown deposit on chaff & 0.4 & 0.1 & Protein & NA \\ \hline BMM163 & S(a) & grey/green, white ground, size & 2.5 & 1.5 & ND & Fruit Gum \\ \hline BMM183 & N(a) & deep red glaze on orange & 2.7 & 2.2 & ND & Tragacanth \\ \hline BMM203 & L & green, white ground, yellow size & 2.9 & 2.2 & Protein & ND \\ \hline BMM204-2 * & L & black deposit & 1.8 & 0.2 & NA & NA \\ \hline FDM014 & Foladi 4 & pink, yellow, white ground, size & 2.3 & 5.1 & Protein & NA \\ \hline FDM023 & Foladi 4B & white, orange, white ground, size & 2.7 & 1.6 & NA & NA \\ \hline FDM026 & Foladi 6 & black(green), white ground, white size & 2.6 & 3.7 & NA & ND \\ \hline FDM043-1 & Foladi 3 & yellow translucent size & 1.9 & 1.8 & Protein & NA \\ \hline FDM043-2 & Foladi 3 & white, white ground, size & 2.7 & 3.4 & Protein & NA \\ \hline FDM055-1 & Foladi 4 & green, white ground, size, render & 2.8 & 1.8 & NA & NA \\ \hline FDM059 & Foladi 2 & red and white ground & 3.1 & 2.6 & ND & ND \\ \hline FDM 060 & Foladi 6 & brown, green, red, white ground, size & 1.9 & 3.8 & Glue (0.98) & ND \\ \hline KAK03 & Kakrak 43 & red, black organic, white ground & 3.2 & 1.7 & Glue (0.98) & NA \\ \hline KAK10 & Kakrak 44 & white and ground & 2.7 & 1.6 & Egg (0.99) & ND \\ \hline QJM06 & Qol-e Jalal & gold leaf and mordant & 2.8 & 4 & NA & NA \\ \hline QJM07 & Qol-e Jalal & brownish color, whole paint layer & 2.6 & 2.9 & Protein & NA \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Summary of GC-MS results for samples with oil. Samples are considered drying oil if the A/P ratio is greater than 1. Oils with A/P ratios lower than 0.6 (*) should be semi- or non-drying oils, fats, or lipids. NA = not analyzed, ND = not detected, below detection limit. _Corr.coeff._ = correlation coefficient. In general, GC-MS data complimented SR-\(\mu\)FTIR, ELISA, LC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and nano-LC/ESI-MS/MS results. The data in Table 1 show that most of the paint samples with fatty acids matched a drying oil, most likely walnut seed, perilla, or poppyseed oil, due to the P/S ratio (between 2 and 3.5) and most samples had high A/P ratios (above 1) (wall paintings from caves N(a), B(d), F(c), S(a), and L; Foladi caves 3, 4, and 6, Kakrak cave 43 and 44, and Qol-e Jalal cave). The identification of these drying oils is speculative, however, as no other drying oils (tung or linseed) are likely based on the P/S and A/P ratios obtained (see Table 4). Rapeseed oil does have a P/S value between 2 and 3. However, the iodine value is below 130, so it can be eliminated as a possibility [23].