Firing temperature determination and thermoluminescence dating of a brick with cuneiform characters found in the ruins of Ancient Babylon

Authors

  • Rodrigo P. da Silva Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo image/svg+xml
  • Diego R.G. Tudela Universidade de São PauloEscola PolitécnicaDepartamento de Engenharia Elétrica
  • Casimiro S. Munita Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear Instituto de Pesquisas Nucleares
  • Roberto Hazenfratz Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear Instituto de Pesquisas Nucleares
  • Sonia H. Tatumi Federal University of São Paulo image/svg+xml
  • Marcio Yee Federal University of São Paulo image/svg+xml
  • Juan C.R. Mittani Federal University of São Paulo image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2448-1750.revmae.2017.133911

Keywords:

XRD, EPR, TL, INAA, Babylonian cuneiform brick.

Abstract

This paper aims to study a brick with inscriptions in cuneiform characters in  which the sentences are almost complete. Typological studies in agreement with historical records suggest that the tablet was manufactured in the 6th century  BCE during the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar II, Great King of Babylon. The  sample was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), thermoluminescence (TL), and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) techniques. The results showed that the brick is 2350 years old (± 40) and its firing temperature was lower than 400 °C.

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Author Biographies

  • Rodrigo P. da Silva, Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo
    Professor at Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo, Campus Engenheiro Coelho.
  • Diego R.G. Tudela, Universidade de São PauloEscola PolitécnicaDepartamento de Engenharia Elétrica

    Doctorate student at Universidade de São Paulo.

  • Casimiro S. Munita, Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear Instituto de Pesquisas Nucleares
    Researcher from Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares.
  • Roberto Hazenfratz, Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear Instituto de Pesquisas Nucleares

    PhD from Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares.

  • Sonia H. Tatumi, Federal University of São Paulo

    Professor at Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Campus Baixada Santista.

     

  • Marcio Yee, Federal University of São Paulo
    Professor at Universidade Federal de São Paulo.
  • Juan C.R. Mittani, Federal University of São Paulo
    Professor at Universidade Federal de São Paulo.

References

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Published

2017-12-31

Issue

No. 28 (2017)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2017 Rodrigo P. da Silva, Diego R.G. Tudela, Casimiro S. Munita, Roberto Hazenfratz, Sonia H. Tatumi, Marcio Yee, Juan C.R. Mittani

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

SILVA, Rodrigo P. da; TUDELA, Diego R.G.; MUNITA, Casimiro S.; HAZENFRATZ, Roberto; TATUMI, Sonia H.; YEE, Marcio; MITTANI, Juan C.R. Firing temperature determination and thermoluminescence dating of a brick with cuneiform characters found in the ruins of Ancient Babylon. Revista do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, São Paulo, Brasil, n. 28, 2017. DOI: 10.11606/issn.2448-1750.revmae.2017.133911. Disponível em: https://revistas.usp.br/revmae/article/view/133911. Acesso em: 7 feb. 2026.