Materials
Whether minerals, biominerals, rocks, ores, metals, ceramics, glass, pigments, organic material such as bones or teeth, here you will find all the materials that can be examined and analysed in our laboratories.
Bio apatite
“Apatite”, or more precisely the calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), is the mineral component of enamel, dentine as well as bone and provides the compressive strength of these hard tissues.
Biogenic material
Methods used in archaeometry can be used to study so-called bio-based materials.
Carbonate
Carbonates are reaction products (salts, esters) of carbonic acid and play an important role, especially in environmental research.
Ceramics & porcelain
For luminescence dating, ceramic samples must be recovered in a moist state.
Charcoal
Charcoal provides a wealth of information about the past and environmental conditions.
Collagen
Collagen is a structural protein and provides elasticity and torsional capacity of biogenic hard tissue.
Dentine
Dentin is the main component of teeth and forms both the inside of the tooth crown and the root.
Food remains
Food remains are an important culture-historic and archaeological source of information to reconstruct the life of our ancestors.
Fuels
Fuels are chemical substances that release energy during combustion and thus usually drive combustion engines
Glass, glaze and enamel
Today, glass is a widely used and versatile material that dates back to the Bronze Age.
Graphite
Our 14C dating laboratory allows us to analyse sample material that has already been prepared and reduced to graphite.
Hair
Hair, as well as the animal variants fur or feathers, are keratin structures formed on the outer skin.
Ivory
Ivory is the tusks of elephants or mammoth (fossil ivory). But also tusks of hippos, walrus or other whale species are called ivory in the broadest sense.
Leather
Leather is usually tanned – chemically preserved – animal skin from cattle, horses, buffalo, pigs, etc. Depending on the tanning process, the proportion of skin is between approx.
Leaves
lant remains – such as leaves – is an important material in archaeological research.
Lubricants
Lubricants, such as oils or greases, can be produced petrochemically (from crude oil or natural gas) or from renewable raw materials.
Mortar
ortar – an important and widely used building material – is available in many different compositions and with various organic tempering materials.
Non ferrous metal
The term non-ferrous metals is a collective term from materials science under which a part of the so-called non-ferrous metals are summarised.
Ore
Ores are naturally occurring mixtures of metal-containing minerals that were and are mined as raw materials for metal extraction
Precious metal
In archaeometallurgy, the term precious metals is mainly used to describe gold and silver and their alloys.
Slag
Slags are non-metallic residues from various ore smelting processes that have solidified into glass or in crystalline form.
Speleothem
Speleothems (cave mineral) are secondary mineral deposits that are formed by moisture in cavities.
Synthetic material
Plastics are not subject in archaeology. However, methods used in archaeometry can be used to examine them.
Textile
Textile is a generic term for processed raw materials that are made into yarns, fabrics, braids, non-wovens, felts and more.
Tooth enamel
Enamel forms the outer, white layer of the tooth crown and is the hardest substance in the body of mammals.
Water
Water – one of the most important resources on earth – is the focus of many scientific studies.
White metal
The term white metal is a collective term for lead and tin metal and their alloys mostly with copper, antimony or bismuth.
Wood
Wood is one of the oldest used plants, is one of the most important renewable raw materials and also a regenerative energy source.