1. Laser Based intervention in Archaeological Materials and Museum Artifacts: Pleistocene Bones and Neogene Flints
- Author
-
Rahman, Ashiqur, De La Fuente, German F., Angurel, Luis A., Maingi, Evan Maina, Mª Pilar Alonso Abad, Alcalde, Rodrigo Alonso, J. M. Carretero, and Schiavon, Nick
- Subjects
11. Sustainability ,short-pulse, laser, cleaning, conservation, Sierra de Atapuerca - Abstract
Laser cleaning technique signifies the most noteworthy contribution of physics for artworks conservation, have been for the last three decades, functioning as a striking field of research, but with minimal attention by the archaeological conservation community. Laser-assisted removal of contamination and deterioration accumulations from archaeological bones and flints will be a unique success and highlights the use of laser cleaning methodology in practice. This presentation strives for optimizing short-pulse laser cleaning parameters for the elimination of deterioration and contamination on significant Pleistocene bones and Neogene flints surfaces from Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain), in an attempt to safeguard their archaeological value and origin. A series of studies have been carried out to assess the controlled laser cleaning parameters using two different laser systems: picosecond UV laser of 355 nm wavelength and sub-nanosecond n-IR laser of 1064 nm wavelength; taking into account both burst and continuous modes to reveal the efficiency on deterioration removal and with minimal damage to the underlying original surface. This research proposes new possibilities of using the short-pulse laser in conservation, by keeping pulse energy below the plasma formation threshold; the ablation threshold of the material could be deduced after irradiation with a series of laser pulses.