Cambodia Researches Cultural Heritage with Nuclear Techniques
Cambodia is home to many unique cultural sites, four of which are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, this heritage is at risk of deterioration, damage or loss due to the country’s tropical climate.
Archaeologists from Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MCFA) have received IAEA support for theoretical and hands-on training to use a handheld X Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, procured under an IAEA technical cooperation project. This portable, non-invasive device is used to characterize cultural heritage objects and materials by identifying their elemental composition.
During the four day training course, which took place at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, the five archaeologists learned how to calibrate their new equipment and perform practical measurements on stone samples from the geological collections of the MCFA’s Archaeology and Prehistory Department. The archaeologists then conducted measurements at the pre-Angkorian Sambor Prei Kuk site, built in the late 6th and early 7th centuries A.D., where they received training on the use of the handheld XRF spectrometer from Lena Bassel, IAEA expert in heritage science from the IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. Sambor Prei Kuk, which means “the temple in the richness of the forest” in the Khmer language, is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site, consisting of more than one hundred temples. Archaeologists from the MCFA and the National Authority for Sambor Prei Kuk hope to identify different civilizations that have occupied the site in different historical periods, and to examine reconstruction and restoration work during these phases. The temples are constructed from fired bricks and sandstone.
“X ray fluorescence will help us to have a better understanding of the history of the important period before the emergence of the Khmer Empire in the Angkorian period,” said Leng Vitou, acting Director of the Archaeology and Prehistory Study Department of MCFA in Phnom Penh.With the data from the XRF measurements, archaeologists can better understand the composition of materials used in the constructions. This information is crucial for uncovering the different periods of site occupation, including reconstruction and restoration.Non-invasive nuclear analytical techniques, including XRF, can be used to examine the internal structure of objects and determine their elemental composition, and therefore help to identify the technologies and the materials used without harming their physical integrity.
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Portable XRF systems are used for in-situ measurements and do not require sample preparation. This is particularly valuable when studying objects that cannot be moved and for direct-instantaneous analysis at archaeological sites, museums or during excavations.
In the future, the portable XRF spectrometer will allow MCFA officers to study the provenance of ceramics; identify the source of raw materials; analyse pigments of panel paintings at the National Museum for restoration purposes; and support the detection and identification of fake and trafficked artifacts by the Antiquity Department.
“Thanks to the training received from the IAEA, MCFA staff members have gained a better understanding of how XRF technology works and its broad applications in cultural heritage conservation,” said Leng Vitou. “Now we are able to accurately and promptly analyse the composition of cultural artifacts using XRF, leading to more precise conservation and restoration efforts” he added.
