The use of synchrotron radiation for the analysis of samples of historical and artistic importance (archaeology, palaeontology, conservation sciences, palaeo-environments) has been increasing over the past years, and experiments related to the study of our cultural heritage (CH) have been routinely performed at many beamlines of Elettra, the Italian synchrotron radiation facility. Fundamental parameters such as the high photon flux, the small source size and the low divergence typical of synchrotrons make it a very efficient source for a range of advanced spectroscopy and imaging techniques, adapted to the dishomogeneity and complexity of the materials under study. The continuous tunability of the source (from infrared to X-rays) is essential for techniques based on a fine tuning of the probing energy to reach high chemical sensitivity such as XANES, EXAFS, STXM, UV/VIS spectrometry. Moreover, the small source size attained in the vertical plane leads to spatial coherence of the photon source itself, giving rise to a series of imaging methods already crucial to the field. The increasing number of scientific publications shows that microfocused hard X-ray spectroscopy (absorption, fluorescence, diffraction), full-field X-ray tomography and infrared spectroscopy are the most popular synchrotron techniques in the field. The Elettra laboratory now offers a platform dedicated to CH researchers in order to support both the proposal application phase and the different steps of the experiment, from sample preparation to data analysis. We will present this activity and the main instrumental setups and experimental techniques in use at Elettra, and describe their impact for the science being applied to ancient materials using synchrotron rad
ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION AT ELETTRA