Shedding Light on Roman Glass Consumption on the Western Coast of the Black Sea

The chemical composition of 48 glass finds from Histria and Tomis, Romania, chiefly dated to the 1st–4th c. AD, was determined using prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) at the Budapest Neutron Centre (BNC). Most fragments have composition typical for the Roman naturally colored blue-green-yellow (RNCBGY) glass; Mn-colorless, Sb-colorless, and Sb–Mn colorless glass finds were evidenced, too. Several Foy Série 2.1 and Foy Série 3.2 glass fragments, as well as an HIMT and a plant ash glass sample, were identified in the studied assemblage. The archaeological evidence, the glass working waste items, and the samples with compositional patterns suggestive of recycling are proofs of the secondary glass working activities at Tomis during the Early Roman Empire period.

Integrated petrographic and geochemical analysis of the Langobard age pottery of Szólád, Western Hungary

This study presents the results of the petrographic and geochemical analyses of the entire pottery assemblage discovered at the sixth-century (AD) cemetery of Szólád, Western Hungary, associated with the Langobard era in the territory of the former Roman province of Pannonia. Szólád is one of the most prominent archaeological sites of this period, where prior studies have shown that the cemetery was used for ca. one or two generations by a migrating group of diverse genetic background. The present work is the first integrated typological and archaeological science pottery analysis from the early migration period (fifth to sixth century) Hungary. We applied polarising light optical microscopy (OM), prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA), and neutron activation analysis (NAA) on all samples and, additionally, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) on one selected sample. One main fabric group with three subgroups were defined by OM, to which the majority of the samples belong. This fabric group was characterised by aplastic inclusions derived from a carbonate-cemented sandstone typical of the environs of Szólád; therefore, the vessels of this fabric group appear to have been produced locally. The remaining four samples display a variety of unique, ungrouped, fabrics (loners) indicative of different recipes and/or the presence of pottery originating from outside of the region. Our study concludes that the community associated with the cemetery favoured burying pots with the deceased that stylistically resembled archaic “Elbe Germanic” traditions, but which were in fact made locally. However, in some cases, relationships with more distant territories and cultural traditions are also represented.

Non-destructive characterization of bronze objects from Ráksi and the Pusztasárkánytó depot find

Eight ornaments and a dagger were analyzed using completely non-destructive techniques to determine their alloy compositions and to draw conclusions about the production technology. Prompt-gamma activation analysis and time-of-flight neutron diffraction proved that the studied objects are tin-bronzes. Difference was observed in the amounts of ore-related minor components (arsenic, silver, nickel) of the objects belonging to the two distinct archaeological sites. Based on the diffraction analysis of the microstructure, the objects are casts that were exposed to different degrees of manufacturing to reach their final forms.

Obsidian in the Early Neolithic of the Upper Vistula basin: origin, processing, distribution and use – a case study from Tominy (southern Poland)

The inflow of the Carpathian obsidian into the areas on the northern side of the Carpathians and the Sudetes is confirmed as early as in the Palaeolithic. However, its greatest intensity occurred in the Early Neolithic, i. e. in the late 6th and in the first half of 5th millennia BC. During that period, the phenomenon was closely related with the development of the Danubian cultural groups in the upper Vistula river basin, including especially Linear Pottery culture (LBK) and Malice Culture. The constant presence of this raw material products in mentioned areas is documented from the classical (musical-note) phase of LBK, constituting one of the most expressive pieces of evidence of permanent and intense intercultural contacts with communities of the northern Carpathian Basin. This phenomenon has been repeatedly emphasized in the literature. One of the most numerous LBK obsidian inventories in the upper Vistula river basin was obtained at site 6 in Tominy, located in southern Poland, in the non-loess zone of the Sandomierz Upland northern foreground. The above-mentioned collection, its non-destructive elemental analysis, using Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) and also traceological analysis, is the subject of this article. The results supplement the published data to a significant extent, simultaneously providing partial verification and updating of the current state of knowledge on the basic issues related to the Early Neolithic obsidian inflow into areas located North of the Carpathians, including primarily the origin of the raw material, the scale of its processing and distribution ways, as well as the range of its use by the LBK communities.

Revealing hidden features of a Japanese articulated iron lobster via non-destructive local element analysis and 3D imaging

We present a workflow to non-destructively determine the elemental compositions of internal volumes of interest enclosed within complex-shaped objects, by combining 3D X-ray or neutron imaging, prompt-gamma activation analysis, and...

Correction for neutron self-shielding and gamma-ray self-absorption in prompt-gamma activation analysis for large and irregularly shaped samples

Prompt-gamma activation analysis (PGAA) has been extended and validated to measure large and irregularly shaped samples. The detailed sample geometry was implemented in the MCNP-model of the setup and accurate matrix-effect corrections were obtained.

Cu-based alloys as a benchmark for T-PGAA quantitative analysis at spallation neutron sources

In this paper, we present, for the first time, a quantitative analysis carried out using time-resolved prompt gamma activation analysis (T-PGAA), a technique currently under development at the ISIS pulsed Neutron and Muon Source in Oxfordshire.