Applying SEM-Cathodoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy as an advanced research tool for the characterization of archaeological material

Abstract The present work focuses on the application of Cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy for the analysis of different types of archaeological materials and Cultural Heritage artefacts, namely pottery, glass and paintings, and highlights the significant potential presented by this technique. More specifically, in the case of Hellenistic pottery there is evidence that CL panchromatic images can be used to differentiate between glazes of different quality, even when their chemical composition does not present any significant differences. Additionally, archaeological samples could be differentiated based on CL images from chemically and technologically identical authentic replicas. In the case of Classical and Hellenistic glass samples it was shown that the peak positions in the CL spectra vary depending on the sample provenance; however, for statistical relevance a larger number of glass samples from different locations need to be studied to build a reliable provenance database. Finally, preliminary results on the study of paintings demonstrate that the combination of Electron Microscopy with Cathodoluminescence can serve as a powerful tool for the study of production technology, as well as the identification of individual pigments.