APPLICATIONS OF EXTERNAL-BEAM PIXE AT RMIT

The development of an external Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) fa cility for the 1 MV Tandetron accelerator based at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has enabled the analysis of artefacts from th e Museum of Victoria. Analyses of antique bullets, Egyptian glass samp les, an Egyptian wall paint fragment and pigments from soils have been carried out. The results from the analysis of antique bullets determi ned the composition of blue spots on one bullet and aided in the conse rvation process. External PIXE analysis of two Egyptian glass samples enabled the partial determination of the colouring transition metals. Analysis of an Egyptian wall paint fragment and pigments from soils or iginating from the archaeological excavation of the town of Ismant el- Kharab as part of the Dakhleh Oasis Project revealed the necessity to find additional pigments to enable identification of the geographical origin of the wall paint. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.