Castles and Coprolites

I’m excited to share some great work that is happening at Durham University, using X-ray computed tomography (XR-CT) to investigate the remarkable Melsonby hoard , which was discovered in North Yorkshire in 2021. The hoard includes a collection ironwork and copper alloy items, most of which are associated with horse harnesses and Iron Age vehicle parts. The hoard was sent to the University of Southampton’s μ-VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre for XR-CT analysis due to the exceptional size of one of the soil blocks recovered during excavation. Weighing approximately 250 kg, the block contained a dense concentration of artefacts including iron tyres and harness fittings, cemented in compacted soil. This posed a significant challenge for conventional scanning systems, and is rather beyond the scale of what we can scan in our NEMCAS XR-CT facility! Southampton’s μ-VIS centre operates the largest high-energy micro-focus CT scanner of any UK university, capable of imaging very large, dense materials....

I came across these two studies in Journal of Archaeological Science recently, through Google citation alerts . It's always satisfying when my papers are cited, as it shows that there are people out there actually reading them and finding them useful! It's especially satisfying when the citing papers are as exciting as these! Both are by the same team, with lead author Hans Huisman who you may remember gave me some very useful advice through my Micrograph of the Month feature on some of my thin sections. The first paper is " A question of scales: studying Neolithic subsistence using micro CT scanning of midden deposits " Here Husiman et al. apply micro CT scanning to thin section analysis. CT scan, or CAT scan, stands for computerised tomography, which uses a series of X rays to produce 3D images of components that are enclosed within a matrix. This is the same technique that is used in medical applications to look inside the body, but at a much smaller scale, hen...