147 Recent Advances in Archaeological Geology (Posters)

Monday, 26 September 2016
9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall E/F

EXPLORING THE PROVENANCE AND DEPOSITIONAL HISTORY OF A SEDIMENT FOUND AT THE IKLAINA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, MESSENIA, GREECE

Paper number: 147-15
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) analysis has increasingly been used to fingerprint archaeological artifacts, such as metals, ceramics, mortars, and obsidian, and thus to determine their provenance; also of worldwide use is their employment for in situ investigations within archaeological sites to characterize geoarchaeological sediments. On-site pXRF analysis at the Iklaina excavation in Messenia, SW Peloponnese, Greece was conducted in June 2016 to determine the provenance and depositional history of an unusual sediment (known on-site as “HRF”). The HRF sediment is found in the shallow subsurface and has been found adjacent to and under various walls and buildings, but does not contain artifacts unlike most sediment excavated on the site. Samples from four potential source locations for the HRF around the area were collected and analyzed in the laboratory through the combined use of a pXRF set (Bruker Tracer III SD) and a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with an Energy Dispersive Analyser (EDS) (SEM type: Oxford Systems, EDS type: JEOLJSM-6510LV). The HRF was analyzed in situ at three locations around the excavation site using the same pXRF. The ongoing (pXRF, SEM/EDS) analyses will improve interpretation of the depositional history of the site and is expected to significantly increase our understanding of the archaeological features constructed within and above the HRF.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-285208

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