A Multigamma Attenuation Technique for the Quantitative Characterization of Archaeological Metal Alloys

The present work describes an absolute and non-destructive analytical technique that can be used, in combination with X-ray fluorescence, for the quantitative characterization of archaeological metal alloys. The method is based on the measurement of the average gamma-ray absorption coefficient of the sample that is, for homogeneous materials, a linear function of the components concentrations. The average gamma-ray absorption coefficient of different types of ancient metal objects were measured by means of a Ba-133 source; the concentration of the alloy components was then derived by solving the resulting system of equations by means of a weighted least squares technique.