The paste of a series of ceramic products from the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions have been studied at the National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” (NRC KI) and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in order to identify the provenance of the ancient terracotta found in the Kerch Bay; the results are compared with the data in the literature. A classical approach was applied: the ceramic paste morphology was analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopy, and the phase composition was studied by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The elemental composition of ceramic inclusions was determined using energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, and trace impurities in the ceramics were detected by neutron activation analysis (NAA). The decisive geomarkers of the terracotta ceramic paste were found to be jacobsite and titanium augite (pyroxene) admixtures. A multivariate statistical analysis of the obtained geochemical characteristics has been performed, and the likely provenance region of the terracotta ceramic raw material was determined to be the Latium region (Central Italy).

The IREN facility at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics (FLNP) of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) is used for experiments to determine elemental composition of various samples by neutron activation analysis (NAA). A pneumatic transport system (PTS) REGATA-2 was implemented to automate the delivery of containers with samples to the irradiation position and back. The article describes the characteristics of the PTS, its adaptation for operation at the IREN facility, and also plans for subsequent modernization and future prospects. After the assembling of the system, the optimal parameters were chosen for irradiating the typical samples, and a calibration was created for a high-purity germanium detector, which let to consider the volume nature of the samples. Samples of archaeological ceramics from Kazakhstan were studied using the PTS. The features of the IREN facility let to use not only a neutron, but also a gamma-producing target. The first experiments on the qualitative determination of elements by gamma-activation analysis (GAA) were carried out, and the prospects for using the facility for these purposes were confirmed. The creation of the PTS let to automate the process of irradiation samples and increase the efficiency of research in NAA and GAA, especially for short-lived isotopes. It also reduces the negative impact of radiation on the human body.

In the study of the Chelyabinsk meteorite fragment various non-destructive neutron methods, such as prompt gamma-ray activation analysis and neutron diffraction texture analysis were used. These methods are realized by the special spectrometers which are operating at the neutron beams of the IBR-2 pulsed reactor (Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia). Applying prompt gamma-ray activation analysis, mass fractions of 15 elements: Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni were determined. The fragment surface was analyzed by the X-ray fluorescence. The data obtained are in agreement with previously published ones, as well as with the results of texture analysis. For the first time the detailed quantitative texture analysis of Chelyabinsk meteorite fragment was performed. The method provides to obtain preferred orientations of main minerals of meteorite fragment. A suggestion was made regarding the origin of texture as a result of thermobaric impact of the meteorite when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

This publication is devoted to the analysis of ceramic items found in Bolgar, the capital of Volga Bulgaria (now it is the territory of Tatarstan, Russia). Neutron activation analysis (NAA) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the ceramic paste of glazed medieval stonepaste ceramics (fritware) was carried out by the NAA group at the IREN facility of the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. The batch was transferred from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and included 13 samples. For the first time, the task was to comparatively study stonepaste of wares produced in different countries of the East. The results were compared with data on similar ceramics previously published by other researchers.

The article is devoted to the first attempt to use neutron activation analysis (NAA) to determine the chemical composition of the clay component of the molding mass of archaeological ceramics to identify marker elements characteristic of various medieval ceramic production centers. 15 fragments of medieval vessels from the city of Bolgar, the capital of Volga Bulgaria (now the territory of Tatarstan) were provided for research by the Institute of Archeology of RAS. NAA was carried out by the NAA group of the IREN research facility at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Research has shown that all the studied ceramic samples had no significant differences either in the main components or in the traces. Also results were obtained, previously unknown to researchers of medieval ceramics.