From SmallTimes.com: With one quick, tiny laser blast, ancient objects reveal secrets.
Posted on June 18, 2003 10:24 PM. Filed under: history & archaeology.Archaeologists digging in the field might soon have a new tool at their disposal. In addition to the traditional trowel and brush, enter LMnt1 (pronounced Element One): a travel-size laser analytical instrument. It's a tool that can determine the elemental composition of an archaeological find in a few seconds. (...)
The instrument can be used to find out what kinds of alloys were used in gold-colored paint. Details on paint composition can tell researchers where an object came from, and can precisely date an item. The composition of white paint on pottery, for example, can reveal whether it came from a palace or from a poor village. Thanks to this kind of elemental information, researchers can theorize on the period and provenance of any object. And museums can find out whether an old painting was once restored. [continue]