Physics Methods in Archaeometry 71

The role of exact sciences in connection with cultural heritage now is well established and a new scientific branch has been generated: Archaeometry. Literally, Archaeometry means measurement on ancient objects. It is a multidisciplinary field of investigations where the rigorous methods of exact sciences give a fundamental contribution to solving the problems associated with conservation and restoration, as well as to the study itself of the cultural heritage. Archaeometry, as a scientific research field, involves interdisciplinary groups formed by scholars of the humanistic area together with scientists: physicists, chemists, mathematicians, biologists, engineers, etc. The primary justification for the need of involving exact sciences in the field which, in the past, traditionally has been exclusive of Art Historians must no doubt be found in the conservation and restoration activities. The second argument which, in the public opinion, justifies the involvement of science with the world of Art is the confidence that scientific methods are infallible in unmasking forgeries. But in our opinion the awareness of the central role of scientific methods as a support for philological and historical investigations is still very little diffuse or, at least, finds it hard to become widespread. Perhaps also because of our mentality, Physics, compared to chemistry, is more apt to find applications in a context free from authentication or conservation implications. Optical spectroscopy and colorimetry 1 Distance and transformation in the multivariate analysis of archaeometric data 17 Thermodynamics for cultural heritage 37 Ion beam techniques for the analysis of archaeological metallic artefacts 99 Information technologies applied to scientific examination of museum collections 155 Scientific techniques and methodologies for the provenance of white marbles 179 The physical basis of thermoluminescence dating and its applications 203 Quantitative XRF analysis in archaeometric applications 227 Image spectroscopy for diagnostics and conservation of contemporary art 331 Archaeometry an overview 347 Production technology of ancient pottery 357 Glass and related vitreous materials 369 Glazed pottery 377 Radionuclide dating in archaeology by accelerator mass spectrometry 385 Scientific methods and applications to archaeological provenance studies 407 You are what you eat 433 The gilding of other metals since 3000 BC All that glisters is not gold 251 A technological investigation using the microscope 257 The scientific work on the Sutton Hoo ship burial 269 Unmasking forged antiquities How scientific techniques are used to expose fakes in museum collections 281 Synchrotron radiation and neutrons in archaeological and cultural heritage science 299 Examples of the application of scientific methods to the provenance of archaeological metal objects 309 Luminescence and particle track dating 445 Applications to cultural heritage diagnostics 461 Forensic science trace evidence approaches in archaeology 471 Thermographic testing on historic building 481 Elenco dei partecipanti 497 Direitos de autor