Braving assorted adventures with TSA and US and Spanish customs inspections and approvals, the UP Team took the University’s portable XRF spectrometer to Pollèntia to test the possibility of field analysis of artifacts. Dr. Ray Bard, Associate Professor of Chemistry, worked with Director Cau and Barcelona graduate student Leandro to test accuracy and precision of field analysis. Portable XRF (X-ray fluorescence) spectroscopic analysis is clearly quicker and cheaper than use of a stationary spectrometer, as many samples can be analyzed in a short amount of time, with minimal sample preparation, and right where they are found in the field. Sample variation due to uneven surfaces and varied particle size within the sample matrix challenges calibration procedures and precision, however. Dr. Bard and Dr. Cau will work through 2014-2015 to test and document the uses and limitations of portable XRF analysis of pottery fragments in preparation for additional field tests in Summer 2015.
Photo credits this page: Ronda Bard
