Neutrons in Archaeometry and Conservation Science: the Contribution of Neutron Scattering to Cultural Heritage

Archaeometry, originally started as the application of scientific methods in archaeology and essentially confined in the early times to dating methods, is now joining efforts with the more focused conservation science within the broader context of applying a vast array of scientific methods to the understanding and the preservation of our cultural heritage. There is a broad, challenging and very stimulating research area, having poorly defined and strongly interdisciplinary boundaries, which is the application of the concepts and methods of scientific research to cultural heritage problems. The general aims are: (1) to characterize and understand the physicochemical nature of the objects (i.e. phase identification, chemical quantification, assessment of the distribution and heterogeneity of materials, etc.); (2) to insert the object in the appropriate space and time context (i.e. absolute and relative dating, relationship with the surrounding, history of the object, authenticity, provenancing, etc.); and (3) to propose protocols for the interpretation of the object and of the processes acting upon it (i.e. assessment of alteration and degradation, preservation and conservation techniques, materials compatibility, interpretation of the origin and use of the object, etc.). Within this perspective, present trends concerning the application and practice of scientific methods to cultural heritage problems are quite well defined: modern ion and X-ray sources are mostly devoted to analysing materials at the submicron scale, whereas neutron beams, thanks to their penetrating nature, are leading the way in the analysis of large absorbing objects and real-size 3D imaging and characterization of the materials. Recent achievements, the present state of the research, and future developments are briefly discussed.