Cutting Edge Techniques Unlock Information in Archaeology Collections

The exhibits of the Maine State Museum may be temporarily closed, but the off-site archaeology labs are open for research. One example is a project currently underway on the Revolutionary War ship Defence.

The Defence was an American brigantine of the Penobscot Expedition that was scuttled by her crew on August 13th, 1779. The wreck of the Defence was excavated in the 1970s as a joint effort between the Maine State Museum and Maine Maritime Academy with the input of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Institute for Nautical Archaeology at Texas AM University.  The museum curates the artifact collection as well as copious notes, drawings, photos, and other documentation created by the archaeologists.

Spurred by an upcoming publication by a diverse collective of archaeologists and historians, the Defence collection is undergoing exciting new analysis. One example is shown above as Leith Smith, a member of the research team and an adjunct curator of archaeology at the museum, preps a redware vessel for XRF testing at the University of Southern Maine Soil Chemistry Laboratory.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a technique that uses the interaction of X-rays with a material to determine the sample’s exact elemental composition. The elemental compositions of objects can offer interesting insights, ranging from the identity of an unknown artifact to an artifact’s place of manufacture and/or source of raw materials. Such data enables researchers to gain a more detailed understanding of our shared past.