TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-invasive preservation assessment of archaeological animal bones by complementary imaging techniques
AU - Pearce, Chloe
AU - Léonard, Fabien
AU - Magdysyuk, Oxana V.
AU - Thickett, David
AU - Burca, Genoveva
AU - Odlyha, Marianne
N1 - Funding: This research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (170908). Access to the Harwell Campus (UK) facilities was funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Diamond Light Source. The neutron imaging beamline grant (RB1920744) was provided by the STFC ISIS Facility, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1920744.
PY - 2025/8/27
Y1 - 2025/8/27
N2 - The preservation of archaeological bone is of great importance for both archaeological and conservation science studies. Traditional methods of preservation assessment, such as attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), are minimally invasive and destructive. Neutron and X-ray tomography offer a totally non-invasive novel analysis method for the state of preservation of archaeological bones. Seven archaeological animal bones were selected for analysis based on animal maturity, species, visual factors, and ATR-FTIR analysis results. Archaeological bone is a hierarchical composite material constructed from both organic and mineral components; therefore, neutron tomography and synchrotron X-ray tomography have been combined in this novel approach to assess the state of preservation of animal archaeological bone. The neutron data demonstrated that the organic distribution along the diaphysis of archaeological bones varied significantly both within bones and between different animal bones. There is minimal consistency between the samples, emphasizing the inhomogeneity in archaeological bone collections. X-ray tomography revealed unseen physical details, including cracks and substantial damage. The collection of this information via non-invasive methods is highly valuable for cultural heritage, providing a deeper understanding of the observed inhomogeneity in ATR-FTIR analysis data and revealing obscured physical details.
AB - The preservation of archaeological bone is of great importance for both archaeological and conservation science studies. Traditional methods of preservation assessment, such as attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), are minimally invasive and destructive. Neutron and X-ray tomography offer a totally non-invasive novel analysis method for the state of preservation of archaeological bones. Seven archaeological animal bones were selected for analysis based on animal maturity, species, visual factors, and ATR-FTIR analysis results. Archaeological bone is a hierarchical composite material constructed from both organic and mineral components; therefore, neutron tomography and synchrotron X-ray tomography have been combined in this novel approach to assess the state of preservation of animal archaeological bone. The neutron data demonstrated that the organic distribution along the diaphysis of archaeological bones varied significantly both within bones and between different animal bones. There is minimal consistency between the samples, emphasizing the inhomogeneity in archaeological bone collections. X-ray tomography revealed unseen physical details, including cracks and substantial damage. The collection of this information via non-invasive methods is highly valuable for cultural heritage, providing a deeper understanding of the observed inhomogeneity in ATR-FTIR analysis data and revealing obscured physical details.
KW - Animal archaeological bone
KW - Neutron tomography
KW - Synchrotron X-ray tomography
KW - Conservation science
KW - FTIR
KW - XRF
U2 - 10.3390/heritage8090347
DO - 10.3390/heritage8090347
M3 - Article
SN - 2571-9408
VL - 8
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - Heritage
JF - Heritage
IS - 9
M1 - 347
ER -