Marek Fikrle

The Czech Academy of Sciences | AVCR · Nuclear Physics Institute

An obsolete control unit of a fast transport (rabbit) system for short-time neutron activation analysis at the LVR-15 experimental reactor at Řež has been replaced. In the new system a PC is used to fully control the rabbit system and the subsequent gamma-ray spectrometry measurement. The modernization resulted in significant simplification of the...

An obsolete control unit of a fast transport (rabbit) system for short-time neutron activation analysis at the LVR-15 experimental reactor at Řež has been replaced. In the new system a PC is used to fully control the rabbit system and the subsequent gamma-ray spectrometry measurement. The modernization resulted in significant simplification of the...

Five case studies are reported on the use of neutron and photon activation analysis (NAA and PAA, respectively), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, ion beam analysis (IBA), and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for the elemental characterization or dating of various objects of cultural heritage, such as building materials, pottery, metallic artef...

The subject of the investigation is a pair of bracelets from Nový Knín in the Příbram district, the first of which appeared in 1965, the second in 2014. In the past, the first bracelet was characterised as silver, with analogies in Scandinavian ring ornaments of the 10th–11th century AD. But when this bracelet was subjected to an elemental analysis...

The study contributes to knowledge of the Bronze Age tin bronze production process based on the testimony of metal raw materials. This concerns evidence of metallurgical activities both in the form of semi-finished products/ingots and waste generated during production activities. Metal raw materials of a diverse nature, function and provenance occu...

Central Europe in the Iron Age a highly dynamic space and time, with extended mobility, contact networks and circulation of artefacts. So far, little attention has been given to the archaeometry of metals in the Iron Age on account of supposedly biased data due to recycling and mixing of sources. However, we believe that a large-scale sampling of c...

This study deals with the remains of metal objects from the settlement of workers living and labouring at the Egyptian site of Giza in the reigns of Dynasty 4 Kings Khufu and Khafra (c. 2500–2450 BCE). It provides the first detailed set of data on copper tools of the craftspersons working with wood, limestone, textile, etc., focusing on the major a...

The central Bohemian hillfort-type site in Tismice is one of the largest (20–22 ha) in Bohemia from the Early to Middle Hillfort period (8th–9th century) and has been studied for years using non-destructive methods. The study, which presents the results of the complete geophysical survey of the site as well as the results of small-scale trenching f...

The central Bohemian hillfort-type site in Tismice is one of the largest (20–22 ha) in Bohemia from the Early to Middle Hillfort period (8th–9th century) and has been studied for years using non-destructive methods. The study, which presents the results of the complete geophysical survey of the site as well as the results of small-scale trenching f...

We present the results of a complex archaeometric study of Late Bronze Age copper ingots from the Staré Hodějovice hoard (South Bohemia). In order to understand the origin of the copper and describe the metallurgical process, we use modern analytical methods (metallography analyses, major/trace element and lead isotope analyses) to describe the sam...

Atom counting of long-lived radionuclides using neutron activation analysis.

The research of Old Kingdom copper metallurgy is hindered by several problems. The number of archaeometallurgical analytical methods available in Egypt is limited, and it is almost impossible to export samples, although only about 50 milligrams of material would suffice for reasonable results. Old Kingdom artefacts abroad are in many cases unique o...

Imported artefacts from the Late La Tene period also include mosaic glass vessels produced using millefiori, reticella and ribbon mosaic glass techniques. The artefacts are part of the assemblages from the oppida of Stradonice and Stare Hradisko and from the Jicina-Pazaha hillfort of the Puchov culture. Their origin can be traced to a Hellenistic w...

Transmutation detectors could be alternative to the traditional activation detector method for neutron fluence dosimetry at power nuclear reactors. This new method require an isotopically highly-sensitive, non-destructive in sense of compactness as well as isotopic content, precise and standardly used analytical method for trace concentration deter...

This work focuses on the ability of bread and durum wheat to accumulate selenium (Se) via a soil-addition procedure at sowing time. Total Se in mature-grain samples was determined by neutron activation analysis (cyclic and radiochemical). Results show that Se-supplementation at the top rate (100 g Se ha−1) can increase Se contents up to 2, 16, 18 a...

Princely burial mound no. 1 in Rovná (South Bohemia) was excavated in the years 2012–2013, after this extraordinary site from the Late Hallstatt period had been discovered and damaged by treasure hunters. The stone construction of the mound measured 25 m in diameter and the wood-lined burial chamber had a square ground plan of 6.2 x 6.1 m at ground...

The capability of prompt gamma-ray activation analysis (PGAA) for neutron fluence dosimetry by means of transmutation detectors is reported. The metallic foils of Ni, Au, Cu and Nb and the small piece of Ge crystal, which were irradiated at the LVR-15 reactor at Řež for several days, were selected for analysis by PGAA technique. Concentrations of t...

a b s t r a c t Multipurpose research reactors such as LVR-15 iň Rež require monitoring of the neutron flux parameters (f, a) in each batch of samples analyzed when k 0 standardization in NAA is to be used. The above parameters may change quite unpredictably, because experiments in channels adjacent to those used for NAA require an adjustment of th...

Several procedures for preparation of the 95mTc radiotracer following irradiation of a thin Mo target with deuterons were tested. The procedures consisting of alkaline-oxidative fusion of the irradiated target in a mixture of Na2O2 + NaOH and subsequent liquid–liquid extraction with 2-butanone, and acid decomposition of the target in a mixture of H...

Cross-sections for the deuteron-induced reactions on natural molybdenum leading to (93m)Tc, (93m+g)Tc, (94)Tc, (94m)Tc, (95)Tc, (95m)Tc, (96m+g)Tc, (99m)Tc, (99)Mo, (101)Mo, (90m+g)Nb, (92m)Nb, (95)Nb and (89m+g)Zr were measured in the energy range 3.0-19.6 MeV on the cyclotron U-120 M in the Institute of Nuclear Physics AS CR. Special attention wa...

The open settlement of Němčice in Moravia (Czech Republic) provides evidence of local glass-working, the earliest so far identified in La Tène Europe. By the LT C1 period at the latest the workshop produced artefacts usually classified as "Celtic glass". The assemblage of over 2000 objects includes not only hundreds of finished products such as gla...

This work has studied elemental composition of raw copper contained in recently excavated hoards from Early Bronze Age in Southern Bohemia. The analyses were applied to hoards from Přídolí, Purkarec, Chvalšiny, Kladné - Záhorkov and two finds from Nová Ves near Křemže. In addition, also an older hoard found at Nové Vráto (in 1964) was analyzed. The...

Composition of more than 500 metallic artifacts was studied by means of INAA and XRF, including 404 objects of copper alloys. Analyses proved not only use of specialized bronze alloys in the imported Roman vessels, but also use of very pure brass with average content of 20% zinc in the production of decorative brooches, especially in the 1st centur...