Artemis Testing Lab Information

The scientific technique of thermoluminescence (TL) is used to evaluate the authenticity of archaeological pottery. As pottery ages, it absorbs radiation from its environment. We extract a small sample from each piece we analyze and heat it until it glows with a faint blue light, known as TL. The older the pottery is, the more radiation it will have absorbed, and the brighter it will glow. This glow is measured to calculate the approximate age of the pottery. Thermoluminescence can test fired clay such as pottery, earthenware and terracotta, as well as porcelain, stoneware and the casting cores of bronzes. Artemis Testing Lab can test pieces from any culture, as long as they have been fired to above 500C and the clay contains a sufficient quantity of TL minerals (quartz and/or feldspars), as well as radioactive inclusions (normally uranium, thorium and a radioactive form of potassium). More recent pieces can be harder to test. Generally speaking, when a sample is drilled and there is no information available about the burial environment, one may expect +/- 25% uncertainty, and this is more than adequate for authentication where the question is whether the piece was fired in antiquity or recently. The latest computer technology supports and completes analysis. X-Ray Fluorescence / XRF spectroscopy is widely used for qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis of archaeological samples. It is a nondestructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials. XRF analyzers measure the fluorescent (or secondary) X-ray emitted from a sample when it is excited by a primary X-ray source. Each of the elements present produces a unique set of characteristic fluorescent X-rays, providing a conclusive analysis of the material composition. XRF results include the proportions of elements present in the sampled archaeological or historical material. This may be used to establish likely provenance, manufacturing technique, mineral sources, and fabrication technology. The obtained data may ...