Spectroscopic methodes used to examine remains of the king's Midas funeral feast:

1. Infrared absorption spectroscopy allows to identificate particular function groups in chemical substances - vibrational frequencies of certains atom groups depends on their mass and kind of the chemical bond, similar to vibrational frequencies of the mechanic oscillator dependence on the spring elasticity constant

2. Mass spectroscopy - allows to determine ratio of charge to mass of chemical substances or their fragments (after previous ionisation); in order to avoid significant fragmentation during the ionisation, for complicated substances the proton transfer or electrospray ionisation techniques are used.

3. Liqud chromatography - it is a segregation of the substance due to different diffusion speed in liquid column (or gas - gas chromatography).


Infrared spectra analysis of the situla contents (cup with a shape of sheep's head) and remains of food from ceramic plate.

Liquid chromatograph of the remains of the food. In window mass spectroscopy spectrum.

From: Nature, 1999, see the main page



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