Speaker
Description
Nuclear analytical techniques (NAT), and in particular accelerator-based techniques such as Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) for elemental and molecular analysis and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) for radiocarbon dating, have long been applied to cultural heritage forensics, involving the characterization, authentication, and dating of artefacts. Nevertheless, there is still a considerable gap between the accelerator scientists and the end users such as museums, and widespread adoption of nuclear techniques in this sector has never been fully exploited. Exceptions are, for instance, the accelerator laboratory located at the Louvre museum in Paris, France, which is exclusively dedicated to cultural heritage forensics.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has taken the lead in bridging the gap between the NAT and forensics communities, by coordinating the international efforts that would make NATs routinely applicable, reliable, standardised and easily accessible. An IAEA coordinated research project on utilizing nuclear analytical techniques in forensic science, which was implemented in 2017-22, had one entire work package dedicated to cultural heritage. The key results of the project were published in scientific papers, including a special issue of Forensic Science International on “Nuclear Technologies for Forensic Science”.
The talk will provide an overview on capabilities and limitations of accelerator-based and complementary NATs to cultural heritage forensic problems. Case studies from the IAEA coordinated research project will be presented [1]. Finally, it will be shown how the same techniques and methods used for cultural heritage forensics can also be applied to other areas of forensic sciences.
[1] A. Simon, N. Pessoa Barradas, C. Jeynes, F.S. Romolo, Addressing forensic science challenges with nuclear analytical techniques – A review, Forensic Science International, (in press) (2023)
