ILL seminar "Archaeomaterials and forensic investigations: exploring ancient Iranian swords with neutron diffraction and imaging" - Dr. Alex Rodzinka

 The application of neutron techniques in archaeological science is still not considered a standard technique despite their non-invasive nature ideally suited for museum objects. As part of a PhD project with Cranfield University, an assemblage of Iranian swords dating to the Iron Age (ca. 1250-800 BC) was investigated at ISIS using neutron diffraction and neutron tomography. The weapons were seized by the Border Force in the UK and are pending repatriation.
In this talk I discuss how analyses performed on INES and IMAT at ISIS, UK revealed information about the working history of these objects. With neuron tomography it was possible to discover extensive modern modifications of some swords, which were destined to the illicit antiquities market. Their original method of manufacture, including casting of bronze onto iron, was also studied. Considering parameters such as grain size, strain and texture, areas of hot-working of iron swords were identified with neutron diffraction alongside their phase composition. The information gathered helps to further our knowledge of the understanding the ancient metalworkers had of iron and bronze and how they used these materials to make weapons at the transitional period in the early Iron Age Iran.