INAA of Aegaean pumices for the classification of archaeological findings

Abstract

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was used to determine 29 elements in pumice from several volcanic sources (Milos, Nisyros, Yali, Kos and Thera) in the Aegean Sea, Greece, to establish a data basis for the identification of pumice and tephra layers found in archaeological context. The widespread products of the “Minoan Eruption” of the Thera volcano can now be distinguished clearly from all other sources and will be used to establish a datumline in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in the second millenium B.C. The elements Al, As, Ba, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Ti, Th, U, V, Yb and Zr were determined in 14 samples from Milos, 25 samples from Nisyros, 7 samples from Yali, 7 samples from Kos and 17 samples from Thera. Two cycles of irradiation and four measurement runs were applied. The results were compared and suitable groups, typical for each island, were classified. Due to insufficiently comparable data sets, the criteria for distinguishing the different sources have not been revealed by previous studies. This basic knowledge was used to relate pumice from excavations in Tell-el-Dab'a (Egypt) and Bronze Age Knossos to their specific volcanic origin.