Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (229 page)

A surveying instrument that utilizes an infrared or laser beam to measure the distance from the source point to a defined target point. Simple hand-held EDMs are widely available; more sophisticated versions are usually incorporated in a
TOTAL STATION
.

 
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See
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
.

 
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A physical technique for determining the chemical composition of stone, ceramics, pigments, glass, metal, and surface treatments of various kinds. A highly focused electron beam bombards a small point (typically 1mm in diameter) on a polished sample, exciting electrons which emit secondary x-rays. The wavelengths of these secondary x-rays are characteristic of the elements that emitted them, and the concentrations of elements can be calculated from the intensities of each wavelength represented in the energy spectrum.

 
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A binary alloy of gold and silver, used especially in making decorative vessels.

 
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Elgin, Lord
(1766–1841)
[Bi].

Seventh earl of Elgin who was a British diplomat, explorer, and amateur antiquarian. He was the British ambassador to Turkey between 1799 and 1803, during which time he obtained permission to remove the marble metopes from the
PARTHENON
in Athens (Greece was a Turkish province at the time). This was done in 1801, the marbles then being taken to London where they have been on display in the British Museum since 1816. See also
REPATRIATION
.
[Bio.:
Dictionary of National Biography
, 3, 130–1]

 
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See
STRATIFIED SOCIETY
.

 
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