PIXE

Lapis lazuli is among the earliest and most priced ornamental stone worked to produce carvings, beads
and inlays as early as the 4th millennium BC. It is an heterogeneous rock composed of blue lazurite
Na3Ca(Si3Al3O12)S mixed with other minerals like calcite, diopside and pyrite. The historical source of
lapis lazuli in antiquity is supposedly located in Afghanistan, in the Sar-e-Sang district, while other
sources are known in Tajikistan and Russia (Baïkal area).
This work focuses on the lapis-lazuli of the Egyptian treasure of Tôd dated from Middle Kingdom
(20th c. BC). Deposited in four copper boxes, it consists of thousands of blocks of raw lapis lazuli, minute
fragments, beads and carvings stylistically dated to various periods. This discovery raises the question of
the use of lapis lazuli in ancient Egypt because there is no source of lapis in this country. In addition, most
of the lapis lazuli artefacts are strongly weathered. The aim of this work is to understand the alteration
process and to verify if its provenance can still be determined.
A few artefacts were analysed using the new external microbeam line of the AGLAE facility of the
C2RMF. The mineral phases were identified and corresponding trace elements (e.g. Ti, As, Ni, Ba) were
ascribed using the quantitative PIXE elemental maps collected on the entire artefacts or on cross-sections.
In parallel, the IBIL spectrum recorded for each point in the image provided an additional fingerprint of
the luminescent phases, notably mineral species belonging to the cancrinite group. Most alteration products appeared to derive from the oxidation of the pyrite FeS2. It was observed that the alteration process
extends to the core of most investigated artefacts. Despite such a strong alteration state, the chemical fingerprints recorded on the studied artefacts proved to be consistent with that of lapis lazuli from historical
deposit of Badakshan, Afghanistan, previously investigated using the same l-PIXE/l-IBIL protocol

The contribution presents and discusses the preliminary results of the archaeometric analysis conducted on some of the La Tène silver finds from Slovenia. The analysis involved votive plaques, a torque, a brooch and coins from western Slovenia (areas of the Idrija and the Notranjska-Kras groups), as well as brooches and coins from central and eastern Slovenia (area of the Mokronog group). The finds were determined as to their type, date and metal composition, the last by using the PIXE method (proton induced X-ray emission spectrometry) aimed at identifying the probable origin of the silver alloy used in their production. Late Iron Age — La Tène culture — small silver finds — Celtic silver coins — PIXE — Slovenia — southeastern Alps — Idrija group — Notranjska-Kras group — Mokronog group

The PIXE analysis of easel paintings constitutes a challenging task. Despite recognized merits and a few emblematic applications, PIXE has never been routinely applied to these fragile, complex and precious targets. The present work discusses the place of PIXE in the study of easel paintings and
opens up perspectives for a more systematic usage of this analytical technique. Progress achieved since decades in the implementation of PIXE to study such fragile cultural heritage artefacts is reviewed, notably at the LABEC laboratory in Italy and at the AGLAE facility of the C2RMF in France. Two specific techniques developed for paintings are detailed and exemplified on Renaissance painting masterpieces: differential PIXE for paint layers depth profiling and multi-scale elemental mapping for the imaging of pigment distribution. Beam-induced damage, a major concern,
notably depends on the employed beam fluence in  particle/cm2 or lC/cm2. After recalling previous works on damage induced in chemical products comparable to pigments, we present the behaviour under different fluences of protons of a few MeV (1–300 lC/cm2) of targets having high resemblance to historical easel paintings: pellets of specially synthesized lead white pigments, layers of lead white mixed with linseed oil and areas containing lead white of two 19th century paintworks. The results shed new lights on the behaviour of paintworks under the beam and pave the way to strategies for damage mitigation. In particular, the lowering of PIXE performance induced by the decrease of the
beam fluence sets a trade-off between risk of damage and gained information which also impacts the PIXE scanning protocol for paintings. As an illustration of an adequate adjustment of this balance, we report the exploratory application of PIXE mapping to a large area of a 19th century easel painting without damage. The recorded elemental maps are compared to elemental maps collected on the same area using laboratory-based scanning XRF.

Trace and minor components in fragments of northern Chinese porcelains and the poorly-known southern Chinese porcellaneous ware from excavavations in the south-western Cape were determined non-destructively by PIXE in the glazes and in the body material. Correspondence analysis of the analytical data showed that the Chinese glazes, though different from that of English specimens, could not be differentiated. The analysis of the
body material enabled the northern porcelains and some of the
southern ceramics to be distinguished, but some southern porcellaneous
ware could not be grouped separately.

The authors present the results of new chemical characterizations of Early Neolithic obsidian artefacts yielded by the excavations carried out at Cave Pollera in 1971-1973. We analysed four artefacts from
the Impresso-Cardial layer III, level XXII. The finds had already been analysed by neutron activation (INAA) at the end of the 1970s during Lawrence H. Barfield’s pioneering obsidian circulation research in northern Italy. The scope of the new characterizations was to solve some problems raised from previous publications (i.e. 3 artefacts, one of which was generically attributed to the Impressed Ware Culture, the second from the XXII level and the third from level XVII, published by Williams-Thorpe and others in 1979, whilst G. Odetti in her 1991
paper reported 4 artefacts, all from level XXII). This contradictory information did not allow us to identify each analysed artefact and attribute it to its original source (at that time determined as Lipari and Sardinia). Moreover, the presence of obsidian imports from Lipari in the upper Tyrrhenian Sea region during the Early Neolithic does not agree with more recent data obtained from obsidian samples characterised from the neighbouring Arene
Candide Cave. Therefore, the four artefacts have been re-analysed at IRAMAT-CRP2A by non-destructive methods (PIXE at CENBG [AIFIRA platform] and EDXRF). The new results exclude the presence of Lipari
obsidian from the Early Neolithic Pollera deposits. In contrast, they outline a picture more coherent with that obtained from the analyses of coeval obsidian samples collected from sites located in the Liguro-Provençal Alpine arc. Finally, this research pinpoints to the need of reviewing the characterizations published during the first pioneering archaeometric obsidian studies with more precise sourcing databases and methods, to be applied especially when they seem to contrast with a new, more reliable archaeological evidence.

Chapter Abstract:
The vast majority of the studies on Boian pottery (Early Eneolithic in Southern Romania: c. 5000-4500 cal BC) are limited to analyses of shape and decoration with the aim of establishing periodisation and chronology. Only few studies are concerned with technological aspects, such as the composition of the paste and pigments. This article aims to contribute to the latter by looking at pottery samples originating from recent preventive excavations (2012) undertaken at the Nanov-‘Vistireasa 3’ settlement, attributed to the Boian-Spanţov phase (c. 4800-4500 cal BC). To this end, several archaeometric measurements were used to analyse the ceramic paste and white and red pigments. The results of this study indicate a common production for the majority of the pottery samples analysed and an exotic provenance for one sherd in particular. Different types of clay were used as building materials (hearths, walls). The chosen samples of white pigments were based on two main groups of compounds: four samples had calcium-based compositions in combination with low silicon-based products, and one sample had a high concentration of aluminium-silicates resulting from the presence of kaolinite. The red pigments were iron-based but with a high variability of the adjacent compounds.

This paper discusses a methodology that involves the use of x‐ray fluorescence (XRF), high energy particle induced x‐ray emission (HE‐PIXE) and particle induced γ‐ray emission (HE‐PIGE) spectroscopies for the study of historic denars with the aim of describing the advantages and limitations of each technique as well as arriving at an archaeometric interpretation of the compositions. Thirty nine medieval Polish denars minted by Kings Bolesław the Brave and Mieszko II Lambert were analysed for their elemental composition. While XRF is limited to the analysis of the material close to the object´s surface, high energy ion beam analysis was used to obtain information from Cu at a relatively larger depth. The major elements detected were Ag and Cu, while the minor elements were Pb, Au, Bi, and Zn. An evaluation of the results obtained with the different techniques shows that the content of Cu near the surface is different from the bulk composition of the coins. The obtained elemental composition was used to proliferate the understanding of chronological changes in the production of early medieval Polish denars.