PIXE protocol setup for cluster analysis of archaeological samples

Ion Beam Analysis techniques were developed and utilized for applications in the domain of archaeology at the accelerator laboratory of the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission. Our first aim was to set up a suitable experimental protocol using 'Proton Induced X-ray Emission' technique, in order to have accurate and relatively fast measurements for the analysis and the study of archaeological objects, mainly ceramics. The first experimental protocol was done using two runs at 1 MeV and 3 MeV. It showed satisfactory results when it was applied to Roman amphora from Beirut and helped to establish a database of Beirut amphora production. The second one was more advantageous since it is time consuming by using just one run at 3 MeV with a pinhole filter as x-ray absorber. It had the same ability as the previous one by doing accurate PIXE measurements and showed the similar satisfactory results. Consequently, a classification study based on the elemental composition and on multivariate statistical techniques will be performed in order to determine possible provenance of the studied archaeological objects. (author)