Development of a portable x‐ray fluorescence spectrometer equipped with two monochromatic x‐ray sources and silicon drift detector and field analysis of Islamic glasses at an excavation site in Egypt

Abstract

AbstractA portable x‐ray fluorescence spectrometer equipped with a silicon drift detector (SDD) and a digital signal processor (DSP) was developed for in‐field analysis of archeological samples at an excavation site. This spectrometer allows us to carry out highly sensitive analyses of various elements with atomic numbers down to Na in air by using two monochromatic x‐ray sources obtained by doubly bent toroidal monochromators of graphite (0002) (Pd Kα for medium–heavy elements) and PET (200) (Pd Lα for light elements) and white x‐rays with a Zr filter excited at 40 kV for heavy elements. The detection limit was 0.31% for Al and 4 ppm for Sr in a standard cement sample. The spectrometer was set in a room of the excavation laboratory at al‐Tūr Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt in the summer of 2001. The Middle Eastern Culture Center has been conducting an excavation of the sites in al‐Tūr al‐Kilani and Rāya, which were important port cities of Red Sea trade from early Islamic periods: al‐Tūr (A.D.14–20) and Rāya (A.D.8–12). The instrument was operated without any problems and 222 glass objects, 26 pottery sherds, seven pigments and 88 metallic objects were analyzed non‐destructively during a 1 month stay. Since this was the first chemical analysis done at the sites, many important archaeological findings were obtained in the present study. Glass objects were successfully classified based on their chemical compositions. Characterization of stained (luster) glasses was conducted. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.