Fast mapping of gold jewellery from ancient Egypt with PIXE: Searching for hard-solders and PGE inclusions

Lemasson, Quentin; Moignard, Brice; Pacheco, Claire; Pichon, Laurent; Guerra, Maria

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2015.04.064

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Quantitative processing was carried out by PyMCA [11] under the conditions defined for gold alloys [12]. The necklace and some of the earrings were investigated by lPIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission) at the extracted beam line of the AGLAE accelerator facility (from the C2RMF in Paris) using a 3-MeV proton beam, and with (1) Si(Li) detectors for the NMS jewellery items and (2) the newly implemented detection system for the LM jewellery items, consisting of several SDD detectors with high active surfaces, increasing the total solid angle of detection of the emitted X-rays [13], and a new scanning system for high spatial resolution fast elemental mapping (down to 10 9 10 lm 2 ), which improves the quality of the data acquired in the case of gold jewellery [14]. In both setups, one of the detectors was covered with a selective filter consisting of 75 lm of Cu to search for trace elements at the conditions defined for the analysis of gold alloys [15].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All the non-invasive techniques used in this work perform surface analysis in the case of gold alloys [3,14]. Table 2 shows the effective penetration depth in two distinct Au/Ag/Cu alloys, one of high-purity gold and another containing 12 wt% Ag and 2 wt% Cu, by PIXE, XRF, and EDS at our experimental conditions [3].…”

Section: Surface Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4). The predominant use of the hard soldering technique, as represented on a wall painting dating from c. 1475 BC in the tomb of the Vizier Rekhmire at Thebes [25], rather than of mechanical joints, to link the components, is attested in Egyptian gold jewellery [26] from the period concerned in this work and is also evidenced among items from the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period [3,9,14,24].…”

Section: Hard Solderingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5b, c). The geometry of the penannular earrings and the round beads, together with the very thin joints to be analysed, meant that it was only possible to evaluate the composition of the joints for a few items by mapping with EDS [3] and lPIXE [14]. Figure 6 shows the elemental distribution of Cu in colour scale by PIXE in two different joint areas of earring E 14435C, where an increased level of Cu is observed.…”

Section: Hard Solderingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The few existing publications on the alloys used in the manufacture of Egyptian goldwork dating to the second millennium BC seem to indicate the use of native gold from different sources [3,9,14,19]. Different amounts of Cu were frequently added to the native gold to enhance the colour and to change the properties of the alloys.…”

Section: The Origin Of Gold (Presence Of Pges)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gold from the tomb of Scribe Beri: a comparative analytical approach to the New Kingdom gold grave goods from Riqqa (Egypt)

Troalen

Guerra

2016

Appl. Phys. A

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The gold necklace and penannular earrings from tomb 296 at Riqqa, containing the coffins of a female and of a male, the latter a scribe named Beri of the reign of Tuthmosis III (eighteenth Dynasty Egypt), were analysed by PIXE, XRF, and EDS, together with eight penannular earrings from other find-spots of the same period. Analysis of jewellery items from tomb 296 at Riqqa revealed the use of high-purity gold alloys and electrum alloys, while the other earrings investigated were found to be made of electrum with high Ag content. Two earrings conserved in different museums were shown to be originally a pair. PIXE mapping revealed the extensive use of a hard soldering technique for the joints, with the solders being obtained by the addition of Cu to the base alloy. The presence of PGE inclusions indicated the use of alluvial gold, but the variability of their composition could be ascribed to the recycling of gold from different origins, in the case of some objects.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Surface Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hard Solderingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hard Solderingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Origin Of Gold (Presence Of Pges)mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Gold from the tomb of Scribe Beri: a comparative analytical approach to the New Kingdom gold grave goods from Riqqa (Egypt)

Troalen

Guerra

2016

Appl. Phys. A

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Micro‐Particle Induced X‐ray Emission Study of Lead‐Free and Lead‐Based Solders and Interactions with Copper Wires

Whitlow

Nagy

2023

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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The Global Electronics Industry is a major industrial sector with a product value of $1191.2 billion in 2020. [1] Environmental and health concerns lead to the Restriction of the use of Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS)Directive. [2] This limits the use of ten hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and devices. Soldered joints are pivotal for the electronics industry because of their very wide application for electrical interconnections and mechanical fixtures. Prior to the RoHS Directive, Pb-Sn solders were widely used across the entire electronics industry. The implementation of the RoHS Directive requiring a maximum of 1‰ by mass of lead (Pb) in electronic products leads to the replacement of Pb-Sn solders with Pb-free alternatives such as electrically conductive adhesives based on metal particles [3,4] or carbon nanotubes [5] and Pb-free solders. [6][7][8][9][10] Modern electronics production is largely based on printed circuit boards with surface mount device (SMD) and reflow soldering using special alloys. It follows that uniform high-quality soldering joints play a key role in the economics of electronic manufacturing. This is because a single circuit board can have 200-1000 soldered interconnects and a single failed soldered interconnect can require that an assembled board with a high economic value of components must be discarded or reworked. In addition to this, hand soldering also plays an important role for prototyping as well as interconnecting cables, printed circuit board, and connectors. The present study stemmed from interest to understand workshop observations that hand soldering with Cu-Sn (Pb-free) solder is less satisfactory than with Pb-Sn solders because the Cu-Sn solder has a tendency to form poor-quality dull "dry" joints.Fundamentally, soldering involves intermetallic reactions where a low melting point liquid phase partially dissolves the metals to be joined (wetting) which solidifies on cooling to form metal-1/solder/metal-2 interface structures. These are generally mechanically strong because the solder "wets" the surface so that on cooling the solder atoms form metallic bonds with the atoms of the substrate. Pure tin is unsuitable as a solder because of whisker growth and "tin-pest" which is a consequence of an allotropic transformation from body-centered tetragonal β white-tin phase below 13.2 °C to an adamantine α gray-tin phase with an accompanying 28% volume expansion. [7] To overcome this difficulty, a Cu-Sn (Cu 0.7 mass%, Sn bal) alloy is used. This alloy (hereafter referred to as Cu-Sn solder) represents an important RoHS-compatible solder which is often used for hand soldering. The binary Cu-Sn alloy system is also important because ternary alloys with, e.g., Ag are used to make commercial low-melting

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Analytical study of the Middle Kingdom group of gold jewellery from tomb 124 at Riqqa, Egypt

et al. 2019

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The jewellery from tomb 124 at Riqqa, consisting of one pectoral and one winged beetle in gold and cloisonné work, one gold shell pendant decorated with wires and granulation, and one hollow gold amulet in the form of god Min, was analysed by handheld X‐ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. This group of jewellery, dated to the second half of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1900–1840 B.C.), was excavated inside the coffin of an adult male, which had been crushed after burial by the collapse of the chamber roof during an episode of looting. Both the male and the looter's body were found inside the chamber, evidencing that the group of jewellery was intact. Despite having been highly restored in the past, as referenced in the correspondence between the excavator Flinders Petrie and the curators of the Manchester Museum, it could be shown that the jewellery was produced using Ag‐rich electrum alloys containing platinum group element inclusions that indicate the use of alluvial gold. The analysis of some joins has confirmed the use of hard‐soldering, with solders obtained by addition of Cu to the base‐alloy. Data obtained for the jewellery of tomb 124 were compared with data previously obtained for tomb 296, also excavated at Riqqa, but dated to the 18th Dynasty. The comparison demonstrates the continuity of the workshop traditions in one location between the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom but also reveals discrepancies in the alloys employed in those two periods.

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Fast mapping of gold jewellery from ancient Egypt with PIXE: Searching for hard-solders and PGE inclusions

Cited by 29 publications

References 28 publications

Gold from the tomb of Scribe Beri: a comparative analytical approach to the New Kingdom gold grave goods from Riqqa (Egypt)

Gold from the tomb of Scribe Beri: a comparative analytical approach to the New Kingdom gold grave goods from Riqqa (Egypt)

Micro‐Particle Induced X‐ray Emission Study of Lead‐Free and Lead‐Based Solders and Interactions with Copper Wires

Analytical study of the Middle Kingdom group of gold jewellery from tomb 124 at Riqqa, Egypt

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