APPLICATION OF THE LUMINESCENCE METHOD TO THE DATING OF HISTORICAL BRICKS
ALICJA CHRUŚCIŃSKA
The luminescence method allows determine the age of ceramic archeological object, which was heated at high temperature (about 500°C) in the past and which reveals the signal of so-called natural luminescence, which arose as a result of the irradiation of the object in its place of origin. The procedure of dating includes the investigation of luminescence signal as well as the measurements of radioactivity of the object and the object surrounding. The natural luminescence signal is proportional to the value of nuclear radiation energy that is absorbed by the investigated object during the time being the subject of investigation. The knowledge of the radioactivity of the object and its surrounding is necessary for the determination of the value of energy that is absorbed by the object during one year. The measurements of the stimulated luminescence excited in laboratory, on the other hand, enable to establish the value of luminescence signal, which is produced by the nuclear radiation during one year. The age is obtained by means of the comparison of the natural luminescence signal with the luminescence signal, which can be excited in the dated object during one year.
In the paper, one discusses the basic questions concerning the application of luminescence method for the dating of historic bricks. The history of luminescence investigation with particular consideration of the development of dating method is presented briefly. One cites, in an exhaustive manner, the earlier works devoted to the dating of historical buildings. The physical bases of the method are presented in the range that, in the author opinion, should be known by the architecture investigators in order to fruitfully cooperate with physicists. Attention has been paid to the requirements of the method, which should be fulfilled on the stage of making a decision about the place of sample collection.