Micro-SR-XRF and micro-PIXE studies for archaeological gold identification – The case of Carpathian (Transylvanian) gold and of Dacian bracelets

Constantinescu, B.; Bugoi, Roxana; Cojocaru, V.; Radtke, Martin; Calligaro, Thomas; Salomon, J.; Pichon, Laurent; Röhrs, Stefan; Ceccato, D.; Oberländer-Târnoveanu, Ernest

doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2008.03.054

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…The detailed description of the employed experimental setups, as well as the previously reported results, can be found in Bugoi et al (2008) and Constantinescu et al (2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dacian bracelets and Transylvanian gold: ancient history and modern analyses

Constantinescu¹,

Bugoi²,

Cojocaru³

et al. 2009

archeosciences

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Bogdan Constantinescu*, Roxana Bugoi*, Viorel Cojocaru*, Martin Radtke**, Thomas Calligaro***, Joseph Salomon***, Laurent Pichon***, Stefan Röhrs***, Daniele Ceccato****, Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu*****, Corine Ionescu****** and Dana Pop******* Abstract:The recovery of the Dacian gold bracelets was the most thrilling archaeological event of the last years in Romania. The artefacts are exhibited in the Historical Treasure section of the National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, being recovered from the international antique markets through a concerted effort of the Romanian, French, and German authorities. This paper reviews the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses carried out on these exquisite artefacts. These measurements followed the visual examination of qualified experts, which concluded that the gold spiralled bracelets showed strong stylistic similarities with the Dacian silver bracelets discovered until that date in archaeological contexts.Since the most likely source -for geographical and historical reasons -for the metal used to manufacture these artefacts was the Transylvanian Apuseni mountains, additional measurements on several fragments of natural Transylvanian gold, both from placers and primary deposits, were performed using Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence (SR-XRF) at the BESSY synchrotron, Berlin, and micro Particle Induced X-ray Emission (micro-PIXE) at the AGLAE accelerator, Paris, and at the AN2000 accelerator of LNL, Padova. The conclusion of this study was that the recovered spirals are genuine Dacian artefacts, made by cold hammering, chiselling and punching Transylvanian unrefined gold -gold panned from riverbeds mixed with primary gold, most likely extracted from surface veins. Résumé : La saisie des bracelets en or de Dacie a été un des événements archéologiques les plus remarquables de ces dernières années en

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“…The detailed description of the employed experimental setups, as well as the previously reported results, can be found in Bugoi et al (2008) and Constantinescu et al (2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dacian bracelets and Transylvanian gold: ancient history and modern analyses

Constantinescu¹,

Bugoi²,

Cojocaru³

et al. 2009

archeosciences

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“…PIXE has been used for trace element determination in samples such as lake sediment [37], sand dust particles [38], and gunshot residue [39]. Other recent applications include biological samples such as metal-accumulating plants [40], tree rings [41], and dental enamel [42] and archeological artifacts such as gold jewelry [43], stained glass [44], and paintings [45].…”

Section: International Journal Of Electrochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Electrodeposited Nickel-Iron Alloy Film Composition Using Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission

Frey

Wozniak

Nagi

et al. 2011

International Journal of Electrochemistry

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The elemental composition of electrodeposited NiFe thin films was analyzed with particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The thin films were electrodeposited on polycrystalline Au substrates from a 100 mM NiSO4, 10 mM FeSO4, 0.5 M H3BO3, and 1 M Na2SO4solution. PIXE spectra of these films were analyzed to obtain relative amounts of Ni and Fe as a function of deposition potential and deposition time. The results show that PIXE can measure the total deposited metal in a sample over at least four orders of magnitude with similar fractional uncertainties. The technique is also sensitive enough to observe the variations in alloy composition due to sample nonuniformity or variations in deposition parameters.

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“…To answer these questions, we began our research with a study of the Roman mines, and not of the objects, as the common practice has been up to now. Indeed, several attempts at authentication and metal provenance determination of Dacian gold artefacts have been performed based on comparisons of elementary contents (Hauptmann et al, 1995;Constantinescu et al, 2008Constantinescu et al, , 2009. However, both the limited database of ore sample compositions and the lack of archaeological and geological contexts for the samples render the conclusions of these studies questionable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%