Scientific Research Working Group Online session: Neutron in Heritage Science

Scientific Research Working Group Online session: Neutron in Heritage Science

Date: 12 April, 2025

Time: 11:00–12:30 (Central European Time / Paris)

Location: Online (Zoom)

Audience: Open to all, free of charge for both members and non-members

Registered participants will receive a Zoom meeting link shortly before the event. Please share with your colleagues the registration link!

Only registered attendees will be allowed into the Zoom meeting and will be able to receive the recording. 
Register no later than April 10th to either attend live or to view the recording for 3 months after April 12nd, 2025

Registration link: https://forms.gle/dmN22KQPbDjGvybS6

The analysis of precious cultural artifacts requires not only the avoidance of destructive sampling and the use of in-situ or microscopic techniques but also high analytical efficiency. Standard desktop instruments often struggle to meet these rigorous demands, particularly in the scientific study of valuable heritage objects.

Neutron technology has emerged as a powerful tool in heritage science, frequently complementing X-ray techniques such as synchrotron radiation. It offers unique capabilities for revealing the composition, structure, and properties of materials. Neutron-based techniques—such as neutron radiography, neutron activation analysis, and neutron diffraction—provide non-destructive and highly sensitive methods for investigating cultural artifacts.

This event will feature two lectures, offering both a broad overview and innovative case studies on the advancement of neutron technology in heritage science. By leveraging neutron techniques, researchers can gain deeper insights into cultural heritage, contributing to its preservation and academic study.

The session will be moderated by Manako Tanaka, Assistant Coordinator of the ICOM-CC Scientific Research Working Group from Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan, and Yong Lei, Coordinator of the ICOM-CC Scientific Research Working Group from the Palace Museum, China.

We look forward to an engaging discussion and encourage everyone to participate. Hope to see you on April 12th at 11:00 (Central European Time / Paris)!

Speakers:

Nikolay Kardjilov                  

postdoctoral researcher in neutron and X-ray imaging for non-destructive investigation and analysis of cultural heritage artifacts at Helmholtz-Centre-Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB), Germany. 

Neutron imaging in cultural heritage preservation

A wide range of chemical, physical, and microstructural techniques are employed by museums and art experts to characterize objects of cultural significance. Most of these methods are invasive, with probes like X-rays and charged particles having limited penetration power. Neutrons, however, can penetrate thick layers without substantial attenuation, making them ideal for studying and visualizing the interior (bulk) properties of materials in a completely non-destructive and non-invasive way. The high sensitivity to specific light elements (e.g., hydrogen) is an additional special property of the neutron probe. Neutron techniques are increasingly used for the quantitative, non-invasive analysis of various aspects of cultural heritage preservation, including museum collections, artifacts, sculptures, metallic armors and weapons, pottery, and archaeological findings. Examples of investigations into cultural heritage artifacts using neutron imaging techniques will be presented and discussed.

Yueer Li              

Scientific researcher with seven years of experience in neutron, X-ray, and gamma imaging, as well as expertise in gamma spectroscopy, computer vision and computer graphics. A PhD in the Neutron & Positron Methods for Materials (NPM2) group at TU Delft.

Utilizing gamma spectroscopy after neutron tomography to recover otherwise wasted elemental composition data

A significant challenge in bronze research is how to non-invasively determine the elemental composition of bulk artifacts. The most common approach, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), is limited by the shallow penetration of X-rays in metals (typically less than 1 mm), making it inadequate for analysing bulk bronzes, where the pristine bronze is hidden beyond the surface. In contrast, neutrons penetrate deeply into metals, making neutron tomography (NT) the only non-invasive method capable of revealing the internal structures of bulk bronzes. After neutron tomography, however, the artefact inevitably becomes radioactive for a while. This temporary radioactivity was often seen as a drawback but can actually be put to good use: by performing gamma spectroscopy (GS) after NT, this delayed activation radiation can be effectively leveraged, allowing to quantify the (internal and external) elemental composition of the bronze. Based on this idea, a novel simulation-based iterative method was developed to achieve such quantification. In this lecture, I will present the details of this method and demonstrate its application on a precious Indonesian bronze, which is a collaboration with the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency and Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.