The use of radiation in the study of cultural heritage artefacts

Patrons of art galleries and museums, tourists visiting historic buildings, and sightseers viewing archaeological sites are generally unaware of the extent to which science and technology has contributed to the value of what they see. Many countries rely on cultural tourism to generate national weal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation physics and chemistry (Oxford, England : 1993) England : 1993), 2017-08, Vol.137, p.216-224
Main Authors: Creagh, Dudley, Otieno-Alego, Vincent, Treasure, Alana, Kubik, Maria, Hallam, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Art galleries & museums
Australia Indigenous art
Corrosion prevention
Cultural heritage
Cultural resources
Gall
Historic artifacts
Historic sites
Historical buildings
Historical metallurgy
Inks
Iron-gall inks
Lubricants
Machinery and equipment
Museums
Parchment
Pigments
Radiation
Restoration
Statuary
Studies
Tourism
X-rays
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Summary:Patrons of art galleries and museums, tourists visiting historic buildings, and sightseers viewing archaeological sites are generally unaware of the extent to which science and technology has contributed to the value of what they see. Many countries rely on cultural tourism to generate national wealth. The use of radiation of many kinds to assist in the conservation/restoration of cultural heritage artefacts is described in this paper. In particular, the paper will describe studies of the pigments used in historic Australian Indigenous art, the degradation of manuscripts written using iron-gall inks, the protection of statues against corrosion and the selection of lubricants for use in old machinery. •We describe a diverse range of techniques used to study cultural heritage artefacts.•IR X-ray and particle beam techniques were used to study:•The structure and composition of Australian Indigenous bark paintings.•The effects of iron-gall inks on parchment.•The results of corrosion and corrosion protection in machinery and vehicles.
ISSN:0969-806X
1879-0895
DOI:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2016.01.040