A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LASER CLEANING OF ARCHAEOLOGICALINORGANIC MATERIALS WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS

摘要

Ancient artifacts excavated from archaeological site were covered with different soilcontaminates and stains which changed their chemical composition and aesthetic appearance. Ancientinorganic materials such as bronze, glass and pottery covered with different contaminates such ascorrosion products, soil deposits, organic stains and gray while encrustations. Lasers are currentlybeing tested for a wide range of conservation applications. Since they are highly controllable and canbe selectively applied, lasers can be used to achieve more effective and safer cleaning ofarchaeological artifacts and protect their surface details. In the present work we investigated in ageneral way the laser cleaning of bronze corrosion products, glass, and pottery by Q-switched NthYAGLasers. The results were compared with conventional methods. The artifact samples were examined byLight Optical Microscope (LW and showed no noticeable damage.