Nuclear analytical methods in archeology and art
Hungarian-Polish
Academic Bilateral Project (2004-2006)
Extensive examinations of works
of art by means of traditional methods used by art historians, such as
comparisons of their composition, iconography and style, have been
enhanced in the 20th century by comprehensive technological studies
with use of complementary physical and chemical methods. In the study
of archaeological and artistic objects, the determination of the
elementary composition can be very useful to locate, date and even
authenticate them. Results of this analysis allow for the selection of
appropriate conservation treatment, too.
Because of their high
sensitivity nuclear methods enable the detailed identification and
recognition of the material used in the object under examination. The
concentrations of trace elements in an object (so-called "finger
print") depend not only on the place where the samples was taken, but
also on the technological process used in its production. For this
purpose we propose use instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA),
prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) and X-ray fluorescence analysis
(XRF).
The procedures that will be
worked out during the research can be applied to study the different
kinds of historical and artistic objects, although the proposed project
will be only concern with historic pigments and glass. The main
objective of the study is characterisation and identification of
pigments in the 15th century icons from Poland
and Ukraine Schools are owned by the Museum Castle in Lancut near
Rzeszow and to characterise the glass formulation made by central
European factories in the 18th century, on the basis of elemental
composition.
Archaeometrical analysis of neolithic pottery and
comparison to potential sources of raw materials in their immediate
environment
MÖB-DAAD Bilateral
Project (2005-2006)
The
overall aim of this project is the archaeometrical
analysis of Neolithic pottery and comparison to potential sources of
raw
materials in their immediate environment. Pottery
production is one of the most important crafts of prehistoric
communities. Most
of the archaeological evidences recovered from excavations consist of
sherds
and different ceramics, found on habitation sites as well as
cemeteries.
Pottery therefore has served for long as basic starting point of
archaeological
analysis of a site. Recent archaeometrical research added new
dimensions to the
study of archaeological pottery by focusing on material as well as form
of
vessels.
So far, we are on the level of
basic research:
describing petrographical characteristics, technological types,
assessing
firing temperatures and making efforts for regional fingerprinting of
pottery
on the basis of its material.
Material characteristics of the
ceramics may depend on
many complex factors: technological, regional, cultural and functional
factors.
Our proposed project intends to deal mainly with regional factors
comparing
local sediments with the material of early ceramics all over Hungary.
Hungary
is known to serve as a secondary centre for Neolithisation in Europe,
forwarding ideas and perhaps also immigrants from the Southern parts of
Europe, bringing
along, apart from the knowledge of
making ceramics, notions on food production, agriculture, animal
husbandry and
permanent settlements. These notions were quickly adopted and forwarded
towards
the west and the north.
Considerable pioneering work
has been done by members
of the research group already. The present proposal could facilitate
the
exchange of ideas and ensure homogeneity of analyses by the help of
which we
could make better founded statements concerning the provenance and
technology
of early pottery.
The official website of the project is
MÖB-DAAD .
Archaeometry research of lithic raw materials for early
neolithic prehistoric communities with the help of PGAA, with special
regard to radiolarites and obsidian
Hungarian-Croatian Collaboration (2007-2009)
Radiolarites
and obsidian are elements of key importance in the lithic supply of the
Carpathian Basin. Obsidian has always been a key element of prehistoric
material culture and a favourite subject of archaeometrical studies,
i.e., the application of natural scientific methods for objects of
cultural heritage. In the earliest phase of the Neolithic, both
obsidian and radiolarite are an important marker of the movements of
goods as well as peoples that has key role in tracing the
Neolithisation process.
The last decades of research
showed the importance of lithic raw materials, especially radiolarites,
in tracing these movements in Transdanubia. Our first impressions on
Early Neolithic lithic industries in Croatia show that:
- there is essential local supply of various radiolarites
- there is considerable (supposed) import from the territory of Hungary
- it
is imperative to find border zones (in the sense of supply) and find,
if any, objective discrimination features to define these supply zones
The
source regions are known in Hungary but unknown in Croatia. It needs
essential fieldwork to locate them. Archaeological distribution mapping
is quite advanced in Hungary; should be followed by similar elaboration
in Croatia.
PGAA – a
non-destructive nuclear analytical method – has been successfully
applied for characterization of chipped stone archaeological objects
and their raw materials, especially of radiolarite and obsidian. The
method can be effective in distinction between objects of different
provenance.
However,
the geochemical investigations of Hungarian radiolarites is in the
beginning phase, it is necessary to perform more analyses and
additional fieldwork, both in Croatia and Hungary. In this project, we
would like to extend the research to the region of Croatia.
Micropalaeontological research should be performed in both countries.
As
for obsidian, the state of research is more advanced. At the Institute
of Isotopes (IKI), with PGAA, we have determined the characteristic
chemical elements for fingerprinting the main sources and we have build
an adequate database of compositions, including archaeological pieces
from the Carpathians, Romania and geological references from the
Mediterranean.
