As world-class representatives of Bronze Age civilizations, the Sanxingdui Site in China and the classical bronze art of ancient Greece developed highly sophisticated metallurgical systems despite geographical separation and an apparent lack of mutual communication. Both achieved a profound integration of technological methods with civilizational goals such as theocracy, religion, and social...
As a key historical and cultural heritage in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, China, the Sanxingdui Site has yielded numerous ivory bead ornaments with unique shapes. Due to their special material sources, exquisite manufacturing techniques, and distinct decorative motifs, these beads have become a crucial clue for understanding the spiritual world of the Sanxingdui culture.
This...
Like in many collections worldwide, a multitude of papyri is stored in the Papyrus Collection of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, mostly as fragments of different sizes, some rolled, some folded, some as quite irregular bundles. Conventional X-ray or synchrotron radiation computed tomography were recently quite successful in getting access to the text when higher-Z element containing substances...
Non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies have become indispensable tools for the investigation and preservation of archaeological monuments and cultural heritage, providing critical structural and material information without compromising the integrity of these irreplaceable assets. Recent high-impact research demonstrates the capability of advanced NDT methods to reveal previously...
Neutron CT technology has emerged as a superior characterization method for studying the corrosion evolution and aging mechanisms of metal cultural relics, thanks to its unique penetrability and elemental resolution capabilities. However, in the data reconstruction and analysis stages of practical applications, there are still urgent problems to be solved, such as ring artifact interference,...
Neutron-based techniques provide a non-destructive approach for investigating cultural heritage materials due to their high penetration depth and sensitivity to light elements and bulk microstructural features. At the China Mianyang Research Reactor (CMRR), an integrated analytical platform has been established by combining Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA), the HETU high-resolution...
In European culture, starting from the beginning of the Iron Age to modern times, the development of iron and steel technology is directly related to the development of tools, arms and armour.
Many of the tools were common use objects, which soon were lost for degradation and mineralization while it is more common that arms and armour, especially those related to personal status of important...
Neutron activation analysis of archaeological artefacts is a well-established method to gain information on the provenance of the artefacts. For geological materials, such as pumice, obsidian or limestone, determination of provenance is relatively straightforward, since the artefact’s composition directly reflects the natural raw material. In the case of ceramics, however, a layer of...
The co-authors of this presentation have developed a new analytical method capable of analyzing extremely low carbon content at the ppm level using the negative muon lifetime method (MLM) [1, 2]. This method allows for non-destructive quantification of carbon in steel. Until now, to quantify trace carbon in steel, it was necessary to observe the metallographic structure of the steel cross...
The Sanxingdui site is a major Bronze Age site in southwestern China (c. 1400–1100 BCE), renowned for its extraordinary bronze artefacts such as sacred trees, standing figures, and masks. The casting technologies of Sanxingdui bronzes have long attracted scholarly attention, and recent studies have employed advanced techniques, including X-ray CT and neutron imaging, to investigate their...
From the perspective of neutron sciences, the use of neutrons for examining valuable cultural assets may appear to be an established technique. However, the use of neutrons is not yet generally known among cultural heritage specialists and in the museum community. In addition to the limited availability and accessibility of sources and beam time, there are a number of specific challenges in...
As part of the ERC-funded DiverseNile Project, which is hosted at LMU Munich, over 250 ceramic objects dated to the Bronze Age period (New Kingdom) have been investigated using instrumental neutron activation analysis (iNAA) at the TRIGA Center Atominstitut Vienna. Chemically, over 70% of these samples can be categorised into several established NAA groups made from Nile clay. While these...
Shuri Castle, which suffered its fifth destruction by fire in 2019, is currently under reconstruction, with completion of the Seiden (main hall) scheduled for this autumn. The reconstruction is primarily based on the 1768 repair record of the main hall, MOMOURASOEUDUN FUSHINTSUKIEZU HIGOZAIMOKUSUNPOUKI. This document records the application of a coating referred to as “Tōyu-Kinuri” to...
Muon Induced X-ray Emission (MIXE) at the Paul Scherrer Institute uses momentum selected negative muons (μ⁻) to obtain non destructive, non invasive, depth resolved elemental information from cultural heritage objects. By tuning the muon stopping depth, MIXE can probe from tens of micrometres to centimetres below the surface (material dependent), reaching under patina or corrosion without...
The distinctive characteristics of archaeological objects are that they are man-made and have been excavated from the ground. Thus, they comprise artefacts of a wide range of materials of very different size and state of preservation. Non-destructive methods are used routinely to gain an overall impression, or to check and monitor the state of preservation. On selected objects additional...
Prompt gamma analysis based on inelastic neutron scattering (PGAINS) is a powerful non-destructive analytical technique for qualitative and quantitative determination of various elements in unknown samples. This is also true for cultural heritage applications where determination of sample composition is important for a variety of tasks, including determination of its origin and authenticity....
Fossils, remains of extinct organisms preserved in rocks, provide direct, but incomplete evidence of the evolution of life. The more complete a fossil is, the more valuable it is to science. Paradoxically, for a long time, this seal of quality hampered investigation of internal structures, with the exception of conventional X-rays. The advent of X-ray computed tomography led to a revolution in...
Determining the elemental composition of artworks and archaeological finds can provide important information for several heritage science research projects. It can play a major role in determining the origin of raw materials used, i.e. in provenance analysis, in identifying workshops, and in certain cases in determining the authenticity of artworks.
In case of stone tools, different...
Given by the properties of neutrons to penetrate and to visualize macroscopic samples, the study of cultural heritage objects is nowadays a commonly used option next to X-ray investigations. In particular, their higher transmission through thick layers of heavy metals and the high sensitivity for small amounts of hydrogenous materials enabled the study of historical artifacts with respect to...
Prompt-Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) is a powerful non-destructive technique for detecting elements that are difficult to identify using conventional activation methods. However, Brazil currently lacks a dedicated PGAA facility, primarily due to high installation costs and stringent technical requirements, such as a thermal neutron flux typically ranging between $10^6$ and $10^8 \,...
Cold neutrons are slow‑moving neutrons with relatively low kinetic energy. They are produced by passing higher‑energy (“thermal”) neutrons through a cold moderator—typically liquid hydrogen or liquid deuterium cooled to cryogenic temperatures. Because they move more slowly, cold neutrons have longer wavelengths, which is highly advantageous for the use of various neutron‑optical components...
The preservation and characterization of cultural heritage artifacts require highly sensitive, non-destructive analytical methods to determine elemental composition and provenance without damaging the object's integrity. As a specialist at the National Center for Energy, Nuclear Science and Technology (CNESTEN) in Morocco, I have spent over 14 years developing and optimizing nuclear analytical...
The Neutron Physics Laboratory (NPL) offers five diffractometers and analytical instruments for thermal neutron experiments in open access mode. The principal advantage of neutron-based methods lies in their high penetration capability, allowing investigation of the bulk of studied materials rather than only their surface layers. Importantly, neutron measurements are non-destructive and do not...
In the first International Conference on Neutrons for Heritage Science [1] we presented a novel method to extract compositional information from (/after) a neutron tomography experiment from gamma spectroscopy on the radioactive decay [2]. In this presentation we will show the application of this method on a proto-axe found in the south of the Netherlands. It was reported to the Portable...
This poster will outline postgraduate research at Newcastle University focusses on the identification of metalworker skill and agency through an interdisciplinary and multimethod approach utilising traditional metallography, experimental archaeology, and Neutron probing techniques. The project will focus on the metalwork from Scotland and northern England, as this has been comparatively...
The metallurgical study of ancient iron swords provides key information on historical production technologies, as bladed weapons represent some of the most advanced achievements of pre-industrial metallurgy. Traditionally, their characterization relies on invasive sampling and metallography, essential for identifying forging techniques and heat treatments. Increasing conservation requirements,...
Japanese swords have a history of more than one thousand years. During such a long history the sword-making process would be continually changing. Characteristics and making processes of the swords are not well known, especially for the old swords made before about 1600 A.D. Metallurgical characteristics are important to understand the sword feature and to consider the making process, and it...
The presentation will present the results of lead isotope composition studies in white lead samples from paintings by Polish artists active from the third quarter of the 19th century to the 1930s: Józef Szermentowski, Aleksander Gierymski, Władysław Ślewiński, and Olga Boznańska. The primary objective of the research was to characterize the lead isotope ratios of representative lead white...
Chemical analysis with neutrons provides a representative trace element composition for provenance analysis – a “chemical fingerprint”. It is able to detect many elements with low detection limits in the sample bulk. Due to the high penetration depth, surface-near contaminations, which cannot always be removed from sensitive artifacts, have less influence on the results. Inhomogeneities due to...
NECTAR is a unique beam-line with access to fission neutrons for non-destructive inspection of large and dense objects, where thermal neutrons or X-rays face limitations due to their comparatively low penetration. With the production of fission neutrons at the instrument, gamma-rays are produced in the same process. While difficult to shield, it is possible to utilize them by using gamma...
Understanding a fossil’s internal structure without damaging it is essential for modern palaeontology. Techniques such as laboratory X-ray micro-CT, synchrotron CT, and neutron tomography allow researchers to obtain detailed 3D models of specimens still embedded in rock. However, these methods do not always perform the same way. In some cases, a fossil is almost invisible in X-ray–based scans...
Scientific investigations have played a major role in the field of heritage and archaeological science, especially regarding materials that have been transformed through human activity like metals, ceramics etc…. Neutron and muon techniques can be used to determine manufacturing methods and conservation status of ancient and historical artefacts, investigating the inner structure and the phase...
Neutron imaging has become a powerful non-destructive tool for the investigation of cultural heritage objects, enabling the visualization of internal structures and materials that are often inaccessible using conventional analytical methods. TRIXIE, a newly commissioned neutron imaging instrument that became operational in 2025 near Prague in the Czech Republic, has been increasingly applied...
The degradation of an easel painting typically results in canvas loss in strength so that it does not effectively support the paint structure. Lining of the painting was done almost as a routine procedure until awareness was raised regarding the risks associated with the procedure of application such as the stability and invasiveness of the glues used. Recent work has involved the use of...
Over the last twenty years the Rijksmuseum metals conservation department initiated various collaborations with scientists using neutron-based techniques to gain information from the interior of bronze statues that is difficult to acquire with more conventional analytical methods. In the early 2000’s, neutron imaging and diffraction studies of Renaissance bronzes investigated composition,...
Neutrons offer a number of well-known advantages in the investigation of materials. Of importance for cultural heritage (CH) and natural heritage (NH) studies is the extreme penetration allowing for non-invasive characterization. While in the past neutron activation analysis and autoradiography [1] were the major techniques employed in the field, nowadays neutron investigations of...
Neutrons have attracted considerable attention in cultural heritage due to their distinctive features. This study showcases the utility of neutron-based analytical techniques for the non-destructive internal examination of historical metallic artefacts. Two objects (dating from the 17th to 20th century) from Guangdong Museum—a sealed gilt‑copper Buddhist statue and a standard weight—were...
To accurately analyze the internal structure and craftsmanship characteristics of unearthed cultural relics, high-precision CT imaging detection and 3D data processing were carried out on four ring-pommel Daos samples of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Yangzhou, China. Through detection and identification, three of the four ring-pommel Daos had surviving scabbards, and one was an...
A muon is a particle with the same negative charge as an electron and has 207 times larger mass of an electron. Like neutron, artificial muon beams can be generated using high-energy proton accelerator. Due to its negative charge, a muon can form muon atomic orbit around an atomic nucleus. An atomic system consisting of a muon and an atomic nucleus is called "muonic atom". Since the muon has...
Neutron imaging provides spatially resolved information on a sample in 2D or 3D in a non-destructive way. This makes it especially interesting for heritage science applications, where samples are frequently heterogeneous and at the same time too valuable and unique to apply destructive investigation methods. Neutrons provide good penetration depth with high contrast for most high-density...
The reconstruction of ancient manufacturing technologies is pivotal for understanding past societies, yet often limited by the non-destructive analysis requirement of precious archaeological relics. This work presents the application of neutron diffraction texture analysis at the EMD at CSNS as a powerful, non-invasive probe for deciphering the material history embedded within archeological...
In collaboration with Czech Tehnical University (CTU) and the reactor Rez near Prague, we offered neutron radiography tryout measurements to test feasibility on objects submitted by the conference participants prior to the conference.
Objects were safely transported to the Rez reactor, measured there, and transported back by the time of the conference.
This talk will present the objects,...
Recently, the Rijksmuseum successfully hosted the special exhibition Asian Bronzes: 4000 Years of Beauty. One of its highlights was a 15th-century Tibetan gilt-copper Guhyasamaya Akshobhya statue [1] depicting a coupled male and female figure. In addition to its fully gilded surface and intricate decoration, non-invasive neutron investigation provides new insights into the statue’s sealed...
The Luojiaba Site is located in Xuanhan County, Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, China. A large number of cultural relics such as bronzes, potteries and stone artifacts have been unearthed here. Dating from the late Neolithic Age to the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is one of the largest-scale, best-preserved and most culturally connotative central sites of the Ba culture discovered so far in China....
Together with the microstructure, polycrystalline materials are characterized by their texture-the distribution function of the crystallographic orientations of grains in relation to the sample coordinate system. Texture records the thermo-mechanical history of the materials. Quantitative texture analysis of archaeological materials can therefore help one to understand the technological...
The Invisible Revealed was an interdisciplinary exhibition presented at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum in 2022 that demonstrated how advanced, non-destructive scientific imaging can transform the study and interpretation of cultural heritage. Developed through a collaboration between the Powerhouse Museum, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), and the Expanded...
The Shroud of Turin has been dated using the carbon-14 technique (C14), yielding a medieval date. Although the C14 usually provides positive results for archaeology, in the case of the Shroud, the statistical analysis of the raw data casts doubts on the reliability of this result. The significance level for the Shroud samples was only 5% and several peer-reviewed articles concluded that the...
Bronze mirrors produced in the Greek city of Locri Epizefiri (6th – 4th century BC) represent one of the most refined metallurgical productions of Magna Graecia and provide a valuable opportunity to investigate technological choice in ancient workshops.
Time-of-Flight Neutron Diffraction (ToF-ND) was applied for the non-invasive bulk characterization of three mirrors and a mirror handle,...
Although brachial crowns of fossil coleoids, such as belemnites and squids, can be preserved in the fossil record, those of ammonoids have never been found or identified. Therefore, reconstructions of ammonoid arms are purely speculative and it is not even known if they were composed of tentacles. Hook-like hard parts are known from the Cretaceous heteromorph ammonite family Scaphitidae,...
The history of technology of ancient civilizations is mainly the history of their metallurgical capabilities. In fact, metal tools, weapons and art objects were produced using the most advanced knowledge developed by the different civilization, since metalworking requires a wide amount of technical skill and empirical knowledge of complex thermal and mechanical phenomena. Ancient metal...
Scientific analyses form the basis of modern archaeological research. Today, they are used in a wide range of areas and are used to classify organic and inorganic materials. The introduction of scientific dating by determining the radiocarbon content 70 years ago was a milestone. Advances in physical, chemical and biological analysis always represent a profitable opportunity for archaeological...
In the modern world, coins and currency are a ubiquitous part of our lives. The first coins in the western world were struck in electrum by the kingdom of Lydia in 600 BC. However, we know relatively little about how these coins were made and used. This poster is essentially a summary of the current debates regarding the alloy composition, as well as some preliminary results of my own...
The Pre-Qin bronze civilization in Southwest China, exemplified by the Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites, represents a unique trajectory of cultural evolution within the "diversity in unity" framework of Chinese civilization. While the typological succession between these sites is well-established, the underlying transmission of technical knowledge remains under-explored from a microscopic...
Preservation of historical and sacred silver artifacts presents unique challenges due to their delicate structure, intricate engravings, and cultural significance. We introduce a hierarchical multilayer electroplating system combining gold, nickel, and copper, specifically designed to provide long-term protection (>100 years) for such fragile heritage items. The process involves sequential...