Neutron Diffraction in Archaeometry: The Italian Neutron Experimental Station INES@ISIS

The Italian Neutron Experimental Station INES, located at the pulsed neutron source ISIS (U.K.), is equippedwith a general-purpose neutron diffractometer that was built with a special care aiming to focus its use onarchaeometric measurements. In fact, the large sample volume allows to accommodate non standard samplesin the neutron beam, the diffraction banks cover an angle of almost 180°, allowing to detect the presence oftexture, and the high instrument resolution enables a detailed analysis of the peak shape, to obtain informationon the casting process and/or the working techniques applied during the production phase. Thanks to the highpenetration power of thermal neutrons, archaeometric measurements performed through neutron diffractionallow to determine bulk properties of the sample. Here, we describe the instrument structure and present somepreliminary test measurements, on standard samples, to show the high level quality of the machine. In particu-lar, we will show some results of interest in archaeometallurgy like, for example, multiphase analysis of bronzesand quantitative detection of impurities.