Qualitative and quantitative laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis of archaeological metal artefacts

In the present work, we report on the analysis of archaeological metal artefacts from Late Bronze Age, performed by means of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). The experiment was carried out at ambient air and at 1064 nm of a Nd:YAG laser with pulse durations of 10 ns and energy of 10 mJ. The analytical information obtained by LIBS spectra was used for qualitative determination of the elements in the material used for manufacturing of the investigated objects. Quantitative estimation of the elemental concentration of tin and lead in the bulk of the samples was done after generating calibration curves for a set of four standard samples with a wide range of tin and lead concentrations and with similar matrix composition. The preliminary results of the qualitative and the quantitative analyses gave indications about the manufacturing process of the investigated objects and for their provenance as well.