Modern chemical methods for organic residues analysis from four Early Iron Age Tumuli in Simmelsdorf St. Helena, Germany

Principal Investigators:

Prof. Dr. Doris Mischka (UFG-FAU) / Dr. Lukáš Kučera (Department of analytical chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc)

Team:

M.Sc. Zbyněk Žingor, M.Sc. Štěpán Dostál und Katja Hagemann B.A.

Funding:

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF), provided via the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD) within the Programme „Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP)“

Cooperation partner:

Naturhistorische Gesellschaft Nürnberg

Project objectives

Starting point St. Helena

From 2012-2019, at Simmelsdorf-St. Helena, located at the western border of the Franconian Alb,  four Hallstatt C and Hallstatt D Tumuli were excavated. Nearly 5000 bags with finds were recovered, containing one to several dozen finds, up to hundreds of tiny fragments of mainly bronze objects. Since the beginning of the excavations, the find processing is running but not yet finished. Several BA and MA-thesis about the finds are written so far. The burials from Simmelsdorf-St. Helena are taken as case study to optimize and evaluate methods to analyze organic residues in archaeological artefacts using spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. The analysis of attached/soaked organic compounds in artefacts (e.g. ceramic vessels, wooden material, metal objects, amber etc.) is important part of proposed project for identification of dietary and economic habits of former populations.

The workflow

For all materials:

  • Untargeted analysis of studied materials of different origin and of appropriate reference by non-invasive spectroscopic (Raman, RM, and infrared spectroscopy, FTIR) and spectrometric (laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, LDI-MS; gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, GC/MS) techniques.
  • Treating the the raw data with statistical software to find compounds (specific markers) that differ significantly in response among the samples.
  • The abundance of each marker (peak height or area) across the tested set of samples is submitted to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for evaluating differences among samples and significance of particular markers.
  • Targeted analysis by tandem mass spectrometry and ion mobility mass spectrometry, using UV/VIS spectra, with databases and/or comparison with authentic standards (if available) providing information about identity of the found markers.

Especially for organic materials:

  • Raman microscopy for substances used for their decoration (graphite, colorants)
  • FTIR-protein analysis, optical and electron microscopy as well as infrared and Raman spectroscopy for the fibres (textiles), attached to bronze artifacts (eg. needles)

For the amber:

  • infrared spectroscopy and new methods (e.g., laser desorption / ionization mass spectrometry, LDI-MS; atmospheric particle mass probe spectrometry, ASAP-MS) should deliver information on the amber’s orign

 

Specific aims of the project:

Optimization and evaluation of methods for analysis of organic residues in archaeological artefacts (vessels contents and decorations, textile relicts, amber finds) based on spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques.
With necessary caution, the use of the obtained results as a tool for

  • the study of dietary habits of past populations and burial rites in the Early Iron Age
  • the determination of the used fibres for the textiles (probably from cloth)
  • the determination of the materials used for the decoration of pots
  • the raw material determination of the source of the amber
  • Interpretation of the results according to the state of research on Early Iron Age societies at the border of Eastern and Western Hallstatt Cultures

Expected outputs:

  • Development and evaluation of sample procedure from sampling to analysis
  • Understanding of burial rituals concerning the offering of food
  • Determination of textile remains
  • Publication of at least 1 paper is expected (e.g. Archaeometry, Interdiciplinaria archaeologica, Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports, Praehistorische Zeitschrift)

The project blog

17.03.2022

Keramik, Bohrer und Strahlenpistole – Archäometrische Untersuchungen an Funden aus St. Helena

Ein neues Projekt bringt neue Kooperationspartner!

Letzte Woche waren erstmals die Kollegen vom Department für Analytische Chemie der Universität Olomouc an unserem Institut zu Gast. Im Rahmen des DAAD-Projektes zum Personenbezogenen Austausch (PPP) „Moderne chemische Methoden zur Analyse der Funde aus den ältereisenzeitlichen Grabhügeln von Simmelsdorf-St. Helena“ führten Dr. Lukáš Kučera, M.Sc. Zbyněk Žingor und M.Sc. Štěpán Dostál moderne archäometrische Analysen am Fundmaterial aus unseren Grabungen in St. Helena durch. Dabei wurden in Zusammenarbeit mit Dr. B. Mühldorfer auch die Funde beprobt, die bei der Naturhistorischen Gesellschaft Nürnberg aufbewahrt werden.

Mit Dremel und XRF-Pistole…

Der Fokus des ersten Besuchs lag auf der Untersuchung des Gefäßinhaltes sowie der Bemalung der Keramikgefäße von Simmelsdorf-St. Helena. Die Probenentnahme fand mittels eines Bohrers im Rand- sowie Bodenbereich der Keramikobjekte statt. Die Bemalung wurde teils mittels der non-invasiven XRF-Spektrometrie Methode untersucht, teilweise wurden auch Mikroproben der jeweiligen Farbe genommen. Weitere Proben stammen von organischen Überresten wie Textilresten und „schwarze Substanzen“, die an den Funden haften. Die Proben werden im Department für Analytische Chemie in Olomouc analysiert.

Das XRF-Spektrometer kam zudem auch bei der Analyse der Metallfunde aus den Grabhügeln zum Einsatz.

Die weitere Planung sieht im Sommer einen Gegenbesuch in Olomouc vor. In dessen Verlauf die Bernsteinartefakte aus den Grabhügeln 1 und 2 hinsichtlich ihrer Herkunft analysiert werden sollen. (K. Hagemann)