[en] Elemental analysis of ancient artefacts is of considerable benefit to the field of Archaeology and of general interest to earth scientists. Several techniques are currently available for this purpose. Capabilities of PIXE (Particle Induced X-ray Emission), XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) and ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry) were evaluated to establish which of these instrumental methods was best suited especially for routine on-line usage. The elements of interest discussed in this paper are useful in archaeological provenance studies. (author)