Archaeometric analyses on conical and decorated cap helmets from the Bronze Age are presented. Th... more Archaeometric analyses on conical and decorated cap helmets from the Bronze Age are presented. The helmets are dated to the 14-12th century BC according to associated finds in hoards. Alloy composition, material structure and manufacturing processes are determined and shed light on the earliest development of weaponry production in Central and Eastern Europe. Analyses were carried out using light and dark field microscopy, SEM-EDXS, PIXE, TOF-ND and PGAA. The results allowed reconstructing the manufacturing process, the differences between the cap of the helmets and their knobs (i.e. alloy composition) and the joining technique of the two parts.
The earliest known iron artefacts are nine small beads securely dated to circa 3200 BC, from two ... more The earliest known iron artefacts are nine small beads securely dated to circa 3200 BC, from two burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt. We show that these beads were made from meteoritic iron, and shaped by
careful hammering the metal into thin sheets before rolling them into tubes. The study demonstrates the ability of neutron and X-ray methods to determine the nature of the material even after complete
corrosion of the iron metal. The iron beads were strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian, revealing the status of meteoritic iron as a special material on a par with precious metal and gem stones. The results confirm that already in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an ironenickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper. This is of wider significance as it demonstrates that metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience to hot-work meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting, which produced metal in a solid state process and hence depended on this ability in order to replace copper and bronze as the main utilitarian metals.
This chapter details applications of reactor-based neutron capture prompt gamma-ray activation an... more This chapter details applications of reactor-based neutron capture prompt gamma-ray activation analysis (PGAA). Most of the applications discussed were performed by using thermal and cold (subthermal) neutron beam facilities. PGAA with internal sample placement (e.g. in a thermal column or reactor channel) is also discussed because similar or identical analytical applications could be carried out with neutron beam irradiations. In-beam PGAA has fewer sample matrix and size restrictions but has some disadvantages, such as, for thermal neutron PGAA (TPGAA), element sensitivity variability caused by neutron elastic scattering, primarily by H (Anderson et al. 1985, Mackey et al. 1991), and, for subthermal (or “cold”) neutron PGAA (SPGAA), sensitivity variations caused by neutron energy increase in room-temperature matrices. Low neutron fluxes (typically 106 to 109 cm−2 s−1) and, therefore, low residual radioactivity, associated with in-beam PGAA make possible rapid follow-up analysis of the same analytical portions with other techniques, such as ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma-atomic absorption spectrometry (ICP-AES), or instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA).
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Jun 1, 2000
Variation of radon concentration in ground water in the area of Northeastern Hungary was investig... more Variation of radon concentration in ground water in the area of Northeastern Hungary was investigated. Specific geological features of this region result in high radon concentration in well waters (between 100 and 350 Bq l−1) and in the air of dwellings (occasionally as high as 10000Bqm−3). The observed radon concentrations of well waters show unpredictable variability both in space and
... The KIT-6 and SBA-15 supported catalysts exhibit higher hydrotreating activities than referen... more ... The KIT-6 and SBA-15 supported catalysts exhibit higher hydrotreating activities than reference CoMo/Al 2 O 3 and Ni 12 P 5 /SiO 2 catalysts. ... A reference CoMo/Al 2 O 3 (Shell C444, 9.8 wt.% Mo and 3.4 wt.% Co) was used as received. ...
Archaeometric analyses on conical and decorated cap helmets from the Bronze Age are presented. Th... more Archaeometric analyses on conical and decorated cap helmets from the Bronze Age are presented. The helmets are dated to the 14-12th century BC according to associated finds in hoards. Alloy composition, material structure and manufacturing processes are determined and shed light on the earliest development of weaponry production in Central and Eastern Europe. Analyses were carried out using light and dark field microscopy, SEM-EDXS, PIXE, TOF-ND and PGAA. The results allowed reconstructing the manufacturing process, the differences between the cap of the helmets and their knobs (i.e. alloy composition) and the joining technique of the two parts.
The earliest known iron artefacts are nine small beads securely dated to circa 3200 BC, from two ... more The earliest known iron artefacts are nine small beads securely dated to circa 3200 BC, from two burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt. We show that these beads were made from meteoritic iron, and shaped by
careful hammering the metal into thin sheets before rolling them into tubes. The study demonstrates the ability of neutron and X-ray methods to determine the nature of the material even after complete
corrosion of the iron metal. The iron beads were strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian, revealing the status of meteoritic iron as a special material on a par with precious metal and gem stones. The results confirm that already in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an ironenickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper. This is of wider significance as it demonstrates that metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience to hot-work meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting, which produced metal in a solid state process and hence depended on this ability in order to replace copper and bronze as the main utilitarian metals.
This chapter details applications of reactor-based neutron capture prompt gamma-ray activation an... more This chapter details applications of reactor-based neutron capture prompt gamma-ray activation analysis (PGAA). Most of the applications discussed were performed by using thermal and cold (subthermal) neutron beam facilities. PGAA with internal sample placement (e.g. in a thermal column or reactor channel) is also discussed because similar or identical analytical applications could be carried out with neutron beam irradiations. In-beam PGAA has fewer sample matrix and size restrictions but has some disadvantages, such as, for thermal neutron PGAA (TPGAA), element sensitivity variability caused by neutron elastic scattering, primarily by H (Anderson et al. 1985, Mackey et al. 1991), and, for subthermal (or “cold”) neutron PGAA (SPGAA), sensitivity variations caused by neutron energy increase in room-temperature matrices. Low neutron fluxes (typically 106 to 109 cm−2 s−1) and, therefore, low residual radioactivity, associated with in-beam PGAA make possible rapid follow-up analysis of the same analytical portions with other techniques, such as ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma-atomic absorption spectrometry (ICP-AES), or instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA).
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Jun 1, 2000
Variation of radon concentration in ground water in the area of Northeastern Hungary was investig... more Variation of radon concentration in ground water in the area of Northeastern Hungary was investigated. Specific geological features of this region result in high radon concentration in well waters (between 100 and 350 Bq l−1) and in the air of dwellings (occasionally as high as 10000Bqm−3). The observed radon concentrations of well waters show unpredictable variability both in space and
... The KIT-6 and SBA-15 supported catalysts exhibit higher hydrotreating activities than referen... more ... The KIT-6 and SBA-15 supported catalysts exhibit higher hydrotreating activities than reference CoMo/Al 2 O 3 and Ni 12 P 5 /SiO 2 catalysts. ... A reference CoMo/Al 2 O 3 (Shell C444, 9.8 wt.% Mo and 3.4 wt.% Co) was used as received. ...
26 blueschist Neolithic polished stone tools coming from archaeological sites in Borsod-Abaúj-Zem... more 26 blueschist Neolithic polished stone tools coming from archaeological sites in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County (NE Hungary) were archaeometrically analysed. All items were described and documented macroscopically and magnetic susceptibility was measured on each tool. Non-destructive XRD analyses were made on all implements to separate blueschists from other metamorphic rocks, because this technique can make a difference between the diagnostic sodic amphiboles and other amphiboles, which was confirmed by EDS/SEM in each case. Electron microprobe analyses were carried out on polished sections and selected intact axes by using “original-surface” method. Non-destructive Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) was performed on selected pieces. Blueschist polished stone tools were classified into five groups based on their mineral components and metamorphic evolution. Mineral chemistry analyses suggest that blueschists suffered a polyphase metamorphism. Our data were compared to the nearest blueschist outcrop in the Meliata Unit (Slovakia); it is supposed that the source area of the blueschist implements is the Meliata Unit and/or the blueschist pebbles from Cretaceous conglomerate in the Pieniny Klippen Belt.
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Papers by Zsolt Kasztovszky
careful hammering the metal into thin sheets before rolling them into tubes. The study demonstrates the ability of neutron and X-ray methods to determine the nature of the material even after complete
corrosion of the iron metal. The iron beads were strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian, revealing the status of meteoritic iron as a special material on a par with precious metal and gem stones. The results confirm that already in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an ironenickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper. This is of wider significance as it demonstrates that metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience to hot-work meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting, which produced metal in a solid state process and hence depended on this ability in order to replace copper and bronze as the main utilitarian metals.
careful hammering the metal into thin sheets before rolling them into tubes. The study demonstrates the ability of neutron and X-ray methods to determine the nature of the material even after complete
corrosion of the iron metal. The iron beads were strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian, revealing the status of meteoritic iron as a special material on a par with precious metal and gem stones. The results confirm that already in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an ironenickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper. This is of wider significance as it demonstrates that metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience to hot-work meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting, which produced metal in a solid state process and hence depended on this ability in order to replace copper and bronze as the main utilitarian metals.