Neutron Imaging of Archaeological Bronzes at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

This article presents the initial results of 2-D and 3-D neutron imaging of bronze artifacts using the CG-1D prototype beamline at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Neutron imaging is a non-destructive technique capable of producing unprecedented three-dimensional information on archaeomaterials, including qualitative, quantitative, and visual data on impurities, composition change, voids, and structure at macro-scale levels. The initial results presented in this publication highlight how information from neutron imaging can provide otherwise inaccessible details about the methods and materials that ancient craftspeople used in creating bronze objects.