Cultural and Natural heritage
The “Cultural & Natural Heritage” scientific section brings together scientists from SOLEIL and IPANEMA to share knowledge and experiences regarding methodological and analytical tools that use synchrotron radiation to study ancient materials. It facilitates collaboration between the beamlines and the supporting laboratories and groups at SOLEIL, and, externally, between SOLEIL and the research networks and infrastructures dedicated to heritage sciences.
The research activities of this section cover the following fields: archaeometry, art history, conservation and restoration, paleontology, paleoenvironment and paleoclimate. Given the common characteristics of ancient materials in these various fields (which are culturally significant, rare, valuable, irreplaceable, heterogeneous, and often poorly characterized), the corresponding research projects also offer an opportunity to study the effects of analytical techniques and ways to improve our analytical methodology in order to preserve samples (for example, monitoring damage caused by synchrotron radiation beams, statistical analysis of imaging to reduce radiation dose).
The section facilitates the link between SOLEIL and the heritage science community, in close collaboration with the IPANEMA laboratory located on the SOLEIL site, as well as through local, national, and international research networks (DIM PAMIR, CAI-RN) or infrastructures (FSP, E-RIHS). It contributes to the dissemination of research results through internal and external seminars and at conferences.
Beamlines and Laboratories of the section
Contact
For general enquiry, please use our contact email: heritage@synchrotron-soleil.fr
Research fields
- Deterioration/Conservation: Ancient objects are constantly changing. They undergo processes of deterioration that alter their appearance and make them difficult to interpret. Among the best-known examples are the fading or discoloration of pigments, which alter the impression conveyed by paintings; the formation of rust, which can lead to the complete destruction of objects; or the degradation of microscopic limestone fossils due to the presence of acidic pollutants (Byne degradation). Conservation science therefore works in two directions: understanding past processes that have affected objects and preventing future changes to preserve them. Once degradation processes are better understood, restoration intervenes to preserve or mitigate the observed changes. The experimental challenge lies in being able to track and determine these physicochemical processes and propose/test technical solutions to address them.
- Archaeometry: The study of ancient objects and the analysis of their provenance and the manufacturing techniques used allow researchers to obtain valuable information about the organization of ancient societies and the circulation of goods during early periods. Each material transformation required to produce the final product corresponds to a physicochemical or mechanical process that must be identified.
The experimental challenges involve developing the technical methods needed to extract “clues” from ancient artifacts.
- Art History: The goal is to uncover the techniques and intentions of artists through the study of art production and various workshops, in order to identify the exchange, transmission, and circulation of ideas and techniques. Each stage of preparation involves a change in the use and properties of the components. All this knowledge is crucial for the conservation and restoration of artworks. The experimental challenge lies in determining the original recipes to reveal the artists’ techniques.
- Paleontology: Fossils, regardless of their size (from macro to nanoscale), constitute a valuable record of past life. They provide insights not only into the evolution of organisms, but also into the environments in which they lived and certain aspects of their functioning. Thanks to synchrotron techniques, it is now possible to:
- visualize all preserved anatomical features, including internal structures, remains still buried in sediments, and surface morphologies that are difficult to detect using traditional laboratory techniques
- spatially characterize both the organic (molecular remains) and inorganic (mineralogy, trace elements) compositions of fossils and sediments, which constitute a rich source of information on the biology of extinct organisms, the mechanisms of fossilization and their biases, and allow us to distinguish true traces of life from forms produced by abiotic processes. Furthermore, these data play a key role in identifying biosignatures, both on Earth and in the search for life on Mars.
- Paleoenvironment/paleoclimate: Sediments, rocks, and fossils contain information about the environments and climates in which they formed, thus serving as archives that allow us to trace the evolution of the climate and major events in Earth’s history. Studying them helps, among other things, to better understand how the planet’s gradual oxygenation transformed surface environments and accompanied the evolution of life; to explore the chemical conditions of the early Earth and the role certain elements may have played in the earliest life processes; and to reconstruct the environments in which past organisms lived. Synchrotron methods, in particular, make it possible to identify new paleoenvironmental indicators (“proxies”), notably those based on metallic elements, and to test the validity of those commonly used in the laboratory.
Analytical techniques proposed by the section
- XRF, XAS, XRD, XEOL, X-ray Raman
- X-ray microtomography, coherent diffraction imaging (ptychography)
- UV-visible-IR imaging, UV-visible spectroscopy, IR microspectroscopy, STXM, XPEEM