Why should cultural heritage go nuclear? Complementary, comparative, and standalone applications of neutron computed tomography for the study of archaeological materials

<p dir="ltr">Neutron computed tomography (NCT) is a useful, non-destructive 3D imaging technique which has a history of successful application to investigate the manufacture, composition, damage and repairs, and hidden features of various archaeological and cultural heritage objects. The success of the technique is reflected in a corpus of case studies and publications over the last 60 years, as a complementary, comparative, and standalone technique. Notably, despite the success of NCT in heritage studies, there is a substantial disparity between publications using NCT in comparison to the more routine method of X-ray CT (XCT). This thesis aimed to understand and address this disparity, and ultimately promote the use of NCT as standard practice in the heritage sector.</p><p dir="ltr">This was achieved through a series of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires directed to potential NCT users across the disciplines of archaeology, conservation, curation, and the broader heritage sector. The interviews were designed to better assess attitudes toward nuclear analysis techniques within the heritage sector, as well as knowledge and experience of NCT use. These interviews revealed a number of gaps in knowledge regarding the purpose and function of NCT for heritage research, correlated to varied levels of experience with the technique. These results shaped and informed a series of case studies that focussed on showcasing the capabilities of NCT to investigate: 1) damage and repair, 2) encased materials, and 3) hidden texts on various artefacts. NCT was used in combination with complementary and comparative non-destructive techniques: XCT and micro-X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry (μXRF). These case studies have demonstrated a variety of new NCT applications in the field of heritage studies. They have also highlighted the unique strengths of NCT to reveal information that other imaging techniques, including XCT, cannot, including the world-first virtual unrolling, flattening, and partial translation of a hidden text on a cylindrical lead roll.</p><p dir="ltr">Overall, this thesis incorporated a cross-disciplinary approach, through social and physical sciences, to address the under-utilisation of NCT in heritage research. This investigation is important for both the neutron imaging community, and heritage sector, as it identifies reasons for the disparity, presents case studies which attempt to address participant questions and concerns, and showcases the utility of the technique.</p>