Researchers applied a portable laser ablation system (pLA) to analyze samples of Bronze Age jewellery found in Ur, Troy and Poliochni. (ancient Greece) The portable laser ablation system (pLA) enabled researchers to undertake minimally invasive extraction of 61 samples of the priceless artifacts. The laser melts a small, microscopic hole in the samples, which was then analysed for composition using mass spectrometry. Scientists can create a distinct chemical profile for the finds and use this to draw conclusions. For example, the high concentrations of zinc, palladium and platinum in the jewellery from Troy are a sure sign that the gold was washed out of a river in the form of gold dust. |
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Some jewellery was mass-produced by workshops and not just as individual items. This is the only explanation for the identical amount of platinum and palladium being present in the gold discs in necklaces of the same design that were found at different sites. Experts have long debated the origin of the gold from the royal tombs of Ur. There are no natural sources of gold in Mesopotamia – so West Anatolia, which was also the site of Troy, was believed to be a possible source. It is now thought strong trade links with Ur need to be given greater importance. Share of trace elements in the gold from Troy, Poliochni and Ur, most closely match Bronze Age gold from Georgia. See --->Priam's Treasure See --->Gold of the Royal Cemetery of Ur |