Helium, uranium and thorium analyses of ancient and modern gold objects

Estimates of their time of manufacturing

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12988005
AutoresO EUGSTER (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, autor correspondente), Ernst Pernicka (0000-0003-4746-9239, Curt Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry), Michael Brauns (0000-0002-4551-6882, Curt Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry), A Shukolyukov (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), Valerie Olive (Olivet University), Stefan Roellin (Spiez Laboratory)
Ano2009
Volume33
Páginas59-69
Data de publicação2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoArchéoSciences (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1960-1360 • E-ISSN: 2104-3728
EditoraOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/archeosciences.2017
OpenAlexW1936968439
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas4

Authenticating archaeological gold objects is a major problem, as gold is probably the most difficult material in terms of detecting modern forgeries. In 1996 we published the results of the study of faked and genuine gold crystals from the Santa Elena gold mine in Venezuela, and demonstrated that the U/Th – He dating method is a powerful tool for detecting forgeries among gold objects. U and Th decay by emitting He atoms that remain stored in gold. By measuring U, Th, and He, the time when the He trapping process started can be determined. In the 1996 publication we also mentioned that the same method can be applied to ancient gold objects, in order to determine the time when they experienced their last melting process and, thus, to verify their antiquity. In the present work we report on a systematic and quantitative study of He, U, and Th in a large number of ancient and modern gold objects

Archaeology · Gold standard (test · Metallurgy · Statistics · Thorium · Uranium · Computer Science · History · Laser-induced spectroscopy and plasma · Materials Science · Mathematics · Nuclear Physics and Applications · X-ray Spectroscopy and Fluorescence Analysis · Geology