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Terahertz pulse imaging in archaeology

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Abstract

The work presented in this paper was performed at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, on objects from their permanent collection: an ancient Egyptian bird mummy and three ancient Sumerian corroded copper-alloy objects. We used a portable, fiber-coupled terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopic imaging system, which allowed us to measure specimens in both transmission and reflection geometry, and present time- and frequency-based image modes. The results confirm earlier evidence that THz imaging can provide complementary information to that obtainable from X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) scans of mummies, giving better visualisation of low density regions. In addition, we demonstrated that THz imaging can distinguish mineralized layers in metal artifacts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute de la Lumière Extrême, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

    J. Bianca Jackson, Julien Labaune & Gerard Mourou

  2. School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading, Reading, UK

    J. Bianca Jackson & John W. Bowen

  3. Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Rozenn Bailleul-Lesuer, Laura D’Alessandro & Alison Whyte

  4. Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Paris, France

    Michel Menu

Authors
  1. J. Bianca Jackson
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  2. Julien Labaune
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  3. Rozenn Bailleul-Lesuer
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  4. Laura D’Alessandro
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  5. Alison Whyte
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  6. John W. Bowen
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  7. Michel Menu
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  8. Gerard Mourou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Bianca Jackson.

Additional information

Dr. J. Bianca Jackson is a Marie Curie IntraEuropean Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Reading under the program TISCH: Terahertz Imaging and Spectroscopy for Cultural Heritage. Born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, she received her bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2000. She received her M.S. (2005) and Ph.D. (2008) degrees in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan, under the supervision of Dr. John F. Whitaker at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS). There she specialized in nondestructive applications of time domain terahertz imaging and spectroscopy, with particular interest in the measurement and diagnostics of multilayered material systems. In 2008, under the advisement of Drs. Gerard Mourou and Michel Menu, she became a postdoctoral research scientist in Paris, France working through Ecole Polytechnique’s Institute de la Lumière Extrême (ILE) and Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée (LOA), as well as the Laboratoires de le Centre de la Recherche et de la Restauration des Musées de France (LC2RMF) to construct a terahertz imaging and spectroscopy laboratory specializing in cultural heritage conservation science at the research facility located at the Palais du Louvre. Dr. Jackson was a Chateaubriand Science Fellow (2009–2010) and Rackham-NSF Merit Fellow (2001–2006). She was also a University of Rochester Postdoctoral Fellow for Diversity and Academic Excellence (2012–2013) working at the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester under Dr. Xi-Cheng Zhang, director of the Institute.

Her terahertz research application interests include fresco wall paintings, wood panel paintings, wooden objet d’art, ceramics and corroded metal artifacts. In her free time, she considers herself a bit of a comedy nerd, and enjoys cooking and reading novels.

Dr. Julien Labaune was born in Clamart, France, in1983. He graduated from the Ecole Normal Superieure de Lyon, and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from Ecole Polytechnique. He currently works as an engineer at ONERA, the French aerospace research center, in the department of Mesures Physiques/Unité Foudre, Plasmas et Applications.

Rozenn Bailleul-LeSuer is a Ph.D. candidate in Egyptology in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department of the University of Chicago. She was also guest curator at the Oriental Institute Museum for the special exhibit Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt. After studying Chemical Engineering in Lille, France (Hautes Études Industrielles), and completing aMA in Greek & Latin at the University of Vermont, she is now able to combine her passion for birds and her academic interest in ancient Egypt. She is finishing her dissertation entitled “The Exploitation of Avian Resources in Ancient Egypt: A Socio-Economic Study”. Her research incorporates an in-depth study of Egyptian bird mummies, using various imaging techniques, such as CT scanning and THz imaging.

Laura D’Alessandro is head of the conservation laboratory at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. She holds a B.A. in Classical Civilizations from the State University of New York at Albany and graduated from the Institute of Archaeology, University of London with a degree in the conservation of archaeological and ethnographic materials. She focuses on the preservation of cultural heritage in the Middle East. Her current research interests includes the aging properties of Egyptian blue and Egyptian green pigments.

Alison Whyte is an objects conservator at the Oriental Institute, where she has specialized in the preservation of archaeological material from the ancient Near East since 2001. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia and a M.A. in Ancient Studies from the University of Toronto. Ms. Whyte is a graduate of the Queen’s University Master of Art Conservation Program and is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation. Her research interests include ancient pigments and glazes and soluble salt efflorescence in archaeological material.

John W. Bowen was born in Malvern, UK, in 1963. He received the B.Sc. degree in Physics from Queen Mary College, University of London, UK, in 1985, and the Ph. D. degree from the University of London in 1993 for his work on techniques for wideband millimetre wave spectrometry.

He took up a lectureship at the University of Reading in 1993 and is now Associate Professor in Cybernetics, in the School of Systems Engineering, Reading, UK. He has authored over 120 academic publications in the field of millimeter wave and terahertz technology. His research interests include the development of terahertz systems and techniques, quasi-optics, terahertz spectroscopy of biological systems and terahertz applications in art and archaeology.

Dr. Bowen is a Chartered Physicist. He is a member of the Institute of Physics, a member of the Optical Society of America, the Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers and the European Optical Society. He was the sole winner of the 1989 National Physical Laboratory Metrology Award for his invention of a wideband millimeter wave noise source.

Michel Menu was born in France in 1953. He received the Dipl.Ing. degree from l’Université Paris XI—Orsay, in 1976, the Doctorate d’Ingénieur degree in Physics and Optics from l’Université Pierre et Marie Curie—Paris VI in 1978, and the Diplôme d’Habilitation à diriger des rechereches en sciences in 1992.

He has worked at the Research Laboratories of French Museums (now the L-C2RMF) in Paris, France, since 1980, and is currently the chief of research. He has been an author on over 200 scientific publications.

Dr. Menu is a member of the Editorial board of Applied Physics A and is the chief editor of TECHNE.

Gerard Mourou was born in La Voulte Ardeche, France, in 1944. He received the B.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Genoble, France, in 1967, the M.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Orsay, in 1970, and the Ph.D. degree in Physics from the University of Paris VI, in 1973.

He is currently the Director of the IZEST-the International Center for Zettawatt—Exawatt Science and Technology—a professor of physics at Ecole Polytechnique and professor emeritus at the University of Michigan—where he was the A.D. Moore Distinguished University Professor of electrical engineering and computer science. He was the founding director of the NSF funded Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the University of Michigan. He is a consultant to several private and governmental organizations, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Xerox Corporation.

Dr. Mourou has been a pioneer in the field of ultrafast photonics for nearly twenty years. He is recognized worldwide for his work in ultrafast science and technology, having made major contributions covering the field of electronics, optoelectronics, archeology and medicine. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the Einstein Chair from the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chevalier de la Legion d’ Honneur.

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Jackson, J.B., Labaune, J., Bailleul-Lesuer, R. et al. Terahertz pulse imaging in archaeology. Front. Optoelectron. 8, 81–92 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-014-0446-y

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