Unique Iron Age kohl from Iran differs from that of ancient Egypt

Eyeliner bottles

Source: © 2025 Silvia Amicone et al/John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University of Oxford

Eye makeup found to contain graphite and manganese but not organic ingredients

Black eye makeup, or kohl, used between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE in the north-west of Iran contained natural graphite and manganese oxide, according to analysis carried out at the University of Tübingen, Germany.

The results provide the first material insight into cosmetic practices in the Iron Age Middle East, the researchers said.