Helium, uranium and thorium analyses of ancient and modern gold objects: estimates of their time of manufacturing

Authenticating archaeological gold objects is a major problem, as gold is probably the most difficult material in terms of detecting modern forgeries. In 1996 we published the results of the study of faked and genuine gold crystals from the Santa Elena gold mine in Venezuela, and demonstrated that the U/Th – He dating method is a powerful tool for detecting forgeries among gold objects. U and Th decay by emitting He atoms that remain stored in gold. By measuring U, Th, and He, the time when the He trapping process started can be determined. In the 1996 publication we also mentioned that the same method can be applied to ancient gold objects, in order to determine the time when they experienced their last melting process and, thus, to verify their antiquity. In the present work we report on a systematic and quantitative study of He, U, and Th in a large number of ancient and modern gold objects.L’authentification d’objets en or est un problème majeur, car l’or est probablement le matériau le plus difficile quand il s’agit de détecter des contrefaçons modernes. En 1996 nous avons publié les résultats d’une étude de cristaux d’or faux et authentiques de la mine d’or de Santa Elena, au Venezuela, et nous avons montré que la méthode de datation U/Th – He est un outil puissant pour détecter les contrefaçons dans le cas des objets en or. La décroissance de l’U et du Th se fait par émission d’atomes d’He qui restent stockés dans l’or. La mesure de l’U, du Th et de l’He permet de déterminer le moment de départ du processus de piège de l’He. Dans notre publication de 1996, nous avons aussi mentionné  que cette même technique peut être appliquée aux objets d’or anciens, de façon à déterminer le moment correspondant à leur dernière fonte et ainsi de vérifier leur ancienneté. Dans cet article nous présentons une étude systématique et quantitative de l’He, de l’U et du Th dans un large nombre d’objets d’or anciens et modernes

Analyse de l’hélium, de l’uranium et du thorium dans des objets anciens et modernes en or : estimation de leur date de fabrication

Authenticating archaeological gold objects is a major problem, as gold is probably the most difficult material in terms of detecting modern forgeries. In 1996 we published the results of the study of faked and genuine gold crystals from the Santa Elena gold mine in Venezuela, and demonstrated that the U/Th – He dating method is a powerful tool for detecting forgeries among gold objects. U and Th decay by emitting He atoms that remain stored in gold. By measuring U, Th, and He, the time when the He trapping process started can be determined. In the 1996 publication we also mentioned that the same method can be applied to ancient gold objects, in order to determine the time when they experienced their last melting process and, thus, to verify their antiquity. In the present work we report on a systematic and quantitative study of He, U, and Th in a large number of ancient and modern gold objects

Helium, uranium and thorium analyses of ancient and modern gold objects: estimates of their time of manufacturing

Authenticating archaeological gold objects is a major problem, as gold is probably the most difficult material in terms of detecting modern forgeries. In 1996 we published the results of the study of faked and genuine gold crystals from the Santa Elena gold mine in Venezuela, and demonstrated that the U/Th – He dating method is a powerful tool for detecting forgeries among gold objects. U and Th decay by emitting He atoms that remain stored in gold. By measuring U, Th, and He, the time when the He trapping process started can be determined. In the 1996 publication we also mentioned that the same method can be applied to ancient gold objects, in order to determine the time when they experienced their last melting process and, thus, to verify their antiquity. In the present work we report on a systematic and quantitative study of He, U, and Th in a large number of ancient and modern gold objects