Characterization of Iron age pottery from eastern Turkey by laser- induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

Selected pottery sherds coming from the Ayanis, Dilkaya and Karagündüz excavations in eastern Turkey and dated from the Early to Middle Iron Age were examined as regards their composition by using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The objective of the study was first to investigate the potential of the LIBS technique in the compositional analysis of pottery and further to explore correlations in spectral data, by using chemometrics methods that would possibly enable discrimination among different sherds. This work is part of a broader study aiming to examine clay variability both before and during the Urartian State period and to explore possible relationships and differences among pottery objects from fortresses and settlements or settlements and cemeteries on the basis of the clay composition of sherds. Preliminary results demonstrate that by using the LIBS technique it is possible to analyse pottery sherds in qualitative and semi-quantitative ways, providing information on the clay and slip composition. Furthermore, encouraging results have been obtained by carrying out principal component analysis (PCA) on the LIBS spectra, which suggest that in certain cases, it is possible to directly correlate spectral information with the origin of pottery sherds.     

古陶瓷元素成分分析技术定量方法的探讨

随着古陶瓷科学技术分析研究的不断深入,不同分析技术间数据的交流和借鉴成为必然。本工作主要从技术角度分析目前国内用于古陶瓷分析研究常见的几种科学分析技术的测量偏差来源,并对测量分析中的相关问题进行了探讨。在针对古陶瓷样品不均匀性要求方面,比较了几种分析技术实验条件的选择,指出适合于古陶瓷分析测量束斑的大小为φ2-3mm。结合上博实验室ED-XRF技术用于古陶瓷胎样品定量分析方法工作,详尽探讨了古陶瓷胎样品的原始样和粉末压片样的定量分析,指出古陶瓷中的“气孔效应”是造成两类样品不能公用标准样品的原因。     

山东日照海曲墓地出土漆膜的分析测试

为进行山东日照海曲墓地出土夹纻胎漆器的脱水保护工作,在对19块残块样品结构、材质分析的基础上,运用傅里叶变换红外光谱、热分析技术对Haiqu07漆膜及现代生漆进行了分析。古代漆膜的红外图谱主要吸收峰和现代生漆的基本相同,说明漆膜结构的抗老化能力较强,具有超稳定性,且溶有颜料的漆膜的抗热稳定性高。本结果可为研究我国古代漆膜提供素材。     

A non-invasive study of Roman Age mosaic glass tesserae by means of Raman spectroscopy

Ancient mosaic tesserae are a range of materials of very varied and complex nature, including pottery, stone and glass. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the analysis of all these kinds of materials. In the particular case of glasses, this technique can be used both for a study of surface weathering and for the characterization of bulk structure, but it has not yet been extensively used for the characterization of mosaic glass tesserae. We carried out Raman analyses on a set of Roman and Late Antiquity period mosaic glass samples, which allowed a good characterization of both the glass matrix and the crystalline inclusions. All the samples show the typical Raman signatures of soda-lime-silicate glasses. Several crystalline phases were also identified, being relics of raw materials used during the glass manufacturing process, such as quartz and feldspars, or linked to the glass color/opacification, such as bindheimite and cuprite. The analyses also led to the identification in some blue, turquoise and green tesserae of calcium antimonate, whose Raman signature has only recently been recognized in the scientific literature on mosaic glasses. Some emphasis is given to the analysis of red lead-containing tesserae, colored with Cu⁺ ions or even Cu⁰ (or Au⁰) metal nanoparticles. Samples with peculiar compositions, as well as “modern” (and restoration) samples, could quite easily be distinguished from the ancient ones by their Raman spectra.     

穆斯堡尔谱技术在考古研究中的应用

穆斯堡尔谱技术是研究固体物质超精细相互作用的有效手段之一,与其它多种测试方法相比,穆斯堡尔谱方法以其高分辨率、高灵敏度、强抗干扰能力,及其对试样的无破坏性等而广泛应用于考古研究中。本文主要介绍穆斯堡尔谱技术在古陶制品、古瓷器及釉彩、古代铜制品及其他金属制品、古代壁画等考古研究中的应用,并对其发展进行评价与展望。     

Non-destructive analysis of amber artefacts from the prehistoric Cioclovina hoard (Romania)

Amber beads from the Cioclovina hoard (Hunedoara County, Romania), dating from the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy – variable angle reflectance (FTIR-VAR) and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman). The aim was to determine if the raw material came from the shores of the Baltic Sea, on the Amber Route which crosses Central Europe, or if it originated from the area of the main amber occurrences in Romania, in Buz?u County, around the village of Col?i. All applied analyses strongly suggest that a large part of the amber from the Cioclovina deposit has a Romanian origin, and thus no connection with the Amber Route.     

A Roman Egyptian Painting Workshop: Technical Investigation of the Portraits from Tebtunis,Egypt

Roman‐period mummy portraits are considered to be ancient antecedents of modern portraiture. However, the techniques and materials used in their manufacture are not thoroughly understood. Analytical study of the pigments as well as the binding materials helps to address questions on what aspects of the painting practices originate from Pharaonic and/or Graeco‐Roman traditions, and can aid in determining the provenance of the raw materials from potential locations across the ancient Mediterranean and European worlds. Here, one of the largest assemblages of mummy portraits to remain intact since their excavation from the site of Tebtunis in Egypt was examined using multiple analytical techniques to address how they were made. The archaeological evidence suggests that these portraits were products of a single workshop and, correspondingly, they are found to be made using similar techniques and materials: wax‐based and lead white–rich paint combined with a variety of iron‐based pigments (including hematite, goethite and jarosite), as well as Egyptian blue, minium, indigo and madder lake to create subtle variations and tones.     

中华民国三十四年中央银行纸币印刷颜料无损研究

法币在中国货币史特别是近代货币史上有着重要地位。1935年11月至1948年8月间,先后发行了15种从"壹分"到"壹萬圆"不同面额的法币,由中外十六家不同印刷公司承印,版别多达百余种。本研究利用超景深三维视频显微镜、激光显微共聚焦拉曼光谱仪和便携式X射线荧光光谱仪,对11枚1945年(中华民国三十四年)中央银行发行的壹仟圆法币的印刷颜料进行了无损研究。结果表明,红色部分(印章、冠字号、纹饰等)普遍使用了有机合成染料系列颜料红PR,而蓝色、绿色、棕色部分普遍使用了普鲁士蓝、铅铬黄和炭黑等颜料进行调配呈色。这些信息能够为纸币类文物的鉴别、保护修复以及相关研究提供依据。     

Investigating experimental knapping damage on an antler hammer: a pilot-study using high-resolution imaging and analytical techniques

Organic (bone, antler, wood) knapping tools were undoubtedly a component of early human tool kits since the Lower Palaeolithic. Previous studies have identified pitting and the occasional presence of embedded flint flakes as important features for recognizing archaeological bone and antler percussors. However, no systematic protocol of analysis has been suggested for the study of this rare archaeological material. Here we present qualitative and quantitative results of a preliminary analysis of an experimental knapping hammer, using a novel combination of microscopy (focus variation optical microscope and scanning electron microscope), micro-CT scanning and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. These imaging and analytical techniques are used to characterize use-damage from the manufacture of handaxes. This paper highlights the strengths and weakness of each technique. Use-wear on the working area included attritional bone loss, micro-striations and compaction of the outer layer of the antler matrix from repeated hitting of the beam against the sharp edge of the handaxe during knapping. Embedded flint flakes were also identified in the pits and grooves. This combination of high-resolution imaging techniques is applicable to fragile archaeological specimens, including those encrusted by sediment or encased in matrix.     

Dry CO2–CO fluid as an important potential deep Earth solvent

Transport properties of reduced carbonic fluid have been studied experimentally at P = 2 kbar and T = 700–1000°C in internally heated pressure vessel (IHPV). Synthetic FeCO₃ and natural siderite were used to generate fluid during experiments using a platinum double‐capsule technique. A natural CaTiSiO₅ aggregate was placed into the inner capsule as an additional source of trace elements. The outer capsule was loaded with albite glass. No water was introduced to the system and oxygen fugacity was established near to graphite–oxygen (CCO) buffer due to transformation of FeCO₃ into a magnetite aggregate during decarbonation to yield CO and CO₂. The carbonates decomposed during initial heating of the experiments, causing their some constituent components to be dissolved in and transferred by the fluid to the pore space of the albite glass matrix. After temperature reached 1000°C glass, the shards annealed and then melted, as evidenced by a vesiculated glass in the quench products. Micro‐Raman investigation of the fluid in bubbles in the albite glass in experiments with decomposition of natural siderite yielded CO–CO₂ mixture where CO mole fraction was 0.15–0.16. We observe significant concentrations of Pt, Mn, P, and REE in the albite glass; in contrast, no Fe or Mg transfer was detected. LA‐ICP‐MS analysis of the albite glass product yielded the average Pt content of 2 ppm. Such high Pt signal came from Pt particles (100–500 nm in size), which were observed on the walls of the bubbles embedded in the glass. Olivines and aluminous spinel were observed in the Fe‐oxide aggregate, demonstrating transfer of SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ from the albite melt by the reduced carbonic fluid from the albite glass (large capsule). Our results demonstrate that dry CO–CO2 fluid can be important agents of dissolution and transport, especially for Pt and other metals. The data imply that metals are chiefly dissolved as carbonyl complexes.