Portable XRF: supporting chemical characterisation of archaeological materials in museums

  • Spriggs, Matthew (PI)

    Project: Research

    Project Details

    Description

    To support a recent successful ARC Laureate grant, FL140100218 The collective biography of archaeology in the Pacific: a hidden history, I seek funding for a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) system (Bruker Tracer III-SD) for chemical characterisation of archaeological materials in museum collections. Portable XRF systems allow us to undertake chemical characterisation of museum collections in a way that has not been possible to do before. It is not feasible to borrow museum collections on any scale and, in addition, it would be cost-prohibitive to freight them to Canberra for such analyses. Recent advances in miniaturisation have led to the availability of portable XRF machines. After extensive consultation with colleagues in Australia and overseas, the most appropriate model is the Bruker Tracer III-SD which costs approximately $54,000 (fluctuation in price arises from AUD-USD exchange rate).
    StatusFinished
    Effective start/end date9/04/1531/12/15