Neutron-based techniques applied for nondestructive quantitative characterisation of ancient mosaic tesserae

Giulia Marcucci, Antonella Scherillo, Carlo Cazzaniga, Massimiliano Clemenza, Daniela Di Martino
Abstract:
The conservation and preservation of cultural heritage need by now non-destructive analytical methods for the characterisation of materials, detection of degradations and authenticity assessment. The interaction properties of neutrons with matter make neutron-based techniques suitable for nondestructive studies of ancient artefacts since they cannot be replaced. A quantitative bulk characterisation of the chemical composition of ancient mosaic tesserae, dating from 2nd to the 11th century AD and coming from different geographical areas (Greece, Italy, and Syria) has been conducted through Neutron Resonance Capture Analysis (NRCA) combined with Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). The NAA analysis returns the bulk composition in terms of major, minor and trace elements, while NRCA reveals the presence of particular elements, like antimony, in agreement with NAA results.
Download:
IMEKO-TC4-MetroArchaeo2020-072.pdf
DOI:
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Event details
IMEKO TC:
TC4
Event name:
TC4 MetroArchaeo 2020 (ONLINE)
Title:

IMEKO TC4 International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

Place:
Trento, ITALY
Time:
22 October 2020 - 24 October 2020