干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The development of an external Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) facility for the 1 MV Tandetron accelerator based at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has enabled the analysis of artefacts from the Museum of Victoria. Analyses of antique bullets, Egyptian glass samples, an Egyptian wall paint fragment and pigments from soils have been carried out. The results from the analysis of antique bullets determined the composition of blue spots on one bullet and aided in the conservation process. External PIXE analysis of two Egyptian glass samples enabled the partial determination of the colouring transition metals. Analysis of an Egyptian wall paint fragment and pigments from soils originating from the archaeological excavation of the town of Ismant el-Kharab as part of the Dakhleh Oasis Project revealed the necessity to find additional pigments to enable identification of the geographical origin of the wall paint. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.