XR-100CR
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x-ray fluorescence technique
At the request and invitation of the Thera Foundation a group from Amptek Inc. and Photoelectron Corp. journeyed to Thera to analyze a gold ibex that was recently found at Akrotiri. The analysis was performed using x-ray fluorescence techniques (XRF). Other artifacts were also analyzed, ranging from pottery to wall paintings and daggers. The x-ray detector used was the Amptek XR-100-CR and the x-ray source was the Photoelectron XRS tube.
The gold ibex was perhaps the most unique object analyzed in that it is the only artifact made of precious metals found at Akrotiri. All other precious objects were removed from the site by Thera inhabitants before the eruption that devastated the island and buried the settlement beneath meters of ash. It is also of note because it comes from an important public building (conventionally called the "building of the benches"), which was in close proximity to the famous Xeste 3 building where the rituals for the young boys and girls of the local elite class took place. The fact that the ibex was found in-situ makes its importance even greater since this object is stylistically unique and it could be considered even as fake in the international art market.
Here is Prof. Doumas' description from the relevant chapter of the catalogue of the new museum:
"Unexpected among the many and wealthy finds of the excavations made for the foundations of the pillars of the new shelter, is the gold figurine found on December 1999. Unique of its kind, it was discovered in mint condition, inside a wooden box (only the imprint has survived) inside a clay chest (larnax), next to a large pile of horns, mainly of goats. Excavation of the find-spot is still in progress and it is therefore too early to draw conclusions about the figurine's significance.
The figure is hollow and was cast by the "lost wax" method. The legs, neck, and tail of the animal were soldered on after the removal of the inside core. In the finishing process the figure was hammered, as deduced from the tool-marks."
2010-08-08