Description:

Aims and methods of historic monument investigations, methods of age determination (radiocarbon, thermoluminescence and related methods, further radiation methods, dendrochronology, archaeomagnetism), analytical methods for determination of origin and production technologies of artefacts (activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis and other methods), photogrammetry.

Contents:

1. Aims and possibilities of investigations of historic monuments and objects
2. Review of methods of monument investigations using natural sciences and their development
3. Dating methods: radiocarbon method and its use
4. Dating methods: thermoluminescence - method and examples of its use
5. Optically stimulated luminescence and its place among dating methods
6. Electron spin resonance and its application in archaeology
7. Other radiation methods of dating
8. Dendrochronological dating
9. Archaeomagnetism and other non-radiation methods of dating
10. Analytical methods: activation analysis - principle, advantages and limits of usability
11. Analytical methods: X-ray fluorescence analysis and other methods
12. Photogrammetry as a method for investigation of historic architecture
13. Summary: materials and methods

Recommended literature:

Key references:
[1] D.C. Creagh - D.A. Bradley (Eds.): Radiation in Art and Archeometry. Amsterdam, Elsevier 2000

Recommended references:
[2] L. Musílek: Applicatïon of ionising radiation in research (in Czech). Praha, ČVUT 1992
[3] M.J. Aitken: Science-based Dating in Archaeology. London and New York, Longman 1990
[4] D.R. Brothwell - A.M. Pollard (Eds.): Handbook of Archaeological Sciences. Wiley, Chichester 2001
[5] M. Martini - M. Milazzo - M. Piazentini (Eds.): Physics Methods in Archaeometry. IOS Press, Amsterdam 2004.

Keywords:

Ionising radiation, archaeometry, historic and cultural monuments, dating, analytical methods

Abbreviations used:

Semester:

• W ... winter semester (usually October - February)
• S ... spring semester (usually March - June)
• W,S ... both semesters

Mode of completion of the course:

• A ... Assessment (no grade is given to this course but credits are awarded. You will receive only P (Passed) of F (Failed) and number of credits)
• GA ... Graded Assessment (a grade is awarded for this course)
• EX ... Examination (a grade is awarded for this course)
• A, EX ... Examination (the award of Assessment is a precondition for taking the Examination in the given subject, a grade is awarded for this course)

Weekly load (hours per week):

• P ... lecture
• C ... seminar
• L ... laboratory
• R ... proseminar
• S ... seminar