Researchers from Cairo University work with teams at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source to study soil and bone samples dating back 4,000 years.
Experiments at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are casting a new light on Egyptian soil and ancient mummified bone samples that could provide a richer understanding of daily life and environmental conditions thousands of years ago.
In a two-monthslong research effort that concluded in late August, two researchers from Cairo University in Egypt brought 32 bone samples and two soil samples to study using X-ray and infrared light-based techniques at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS). The ALS produces various wavelengths of bright light that can be used to explore the microscopic chemistry, structure, and other properties of samples.
Their visit was made possible by LAAAMP – the Lightsources for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Middle East Project – a grant-supported program that is intended to foster greater international scientific opportunity and collaboration for scientists working in that region of the globe.
>Read more on the Advanced Light Source (Berkeley Lab) website
Image: From left, Cairo University postdoctoral researcher Mohamed Kasem, ALS scientist Hans Bechtel, and Cairo University associate professor Ahmed Elnewishy study bone samples at the ALS using infrared light.
Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab