Time-of-Flight Neutron Diffraction (TOF-ND) Analyses of the Composition and Minting of Ancient Judaean "Biblical" Coins.

TOF-ND elastic scattering of thermal neutrons offers some important advantages over X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and metallography for the study of archaeological and numismatic problems. Traditional analytical methods are usually destructive and often probe only the surface. Neutrons deeply penetrate samples, simultaneously giving nondestructive bulk information about the crystal structure, composition, and texture (alignment of crystallites) from which thermomechanical manufacturing processes (e.g., cast, struck, or rolled) may be inferred. An analysis of the metal composition and minting processes used for making ancient Judaean bronze and leaded bronze coins from first century BCE and CE is used as a case study. One of the first ND analyses of the temperature used for striking bronze coins is also presented.

Chemical attribution of corroded coins using X-ray fluorescence and lead isotope ratios: a case study from first century Judaea.

Nondestructive analyses using a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-QMS) and polarizing, multi-target, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (PEDXRF) with three-dimensional optics were conducted on Judean coins from the first century BCE and CE to determine the efficacy and limits of these methods for numismatic analyses of coins with a patina. Comparisons with destructive analyses and literature databases demonstrate their value even when corrosion is present. An outstanding question about the dating of Herod Agrippa I or II "canopy" coins that has significance to Biblical historians is used as a case study. Multiple lines of evidence attribute this coin to Agrippa I, with a date of 41 to 45 CE, produced using Faynan (Feinan), Jordan, and Cyprus ores.