Since 1974 the Fitch Laboratory has built up an exceptional resource base due to periodic refurbishments and constant updating and enhancing of its equipment. It is housed in a two-storey purpose-designed building, and provides excellent facilities for sample processing, preparation, examination and analysis, of a wide variety of archaeological materials, artifacts and finds, both organic and inorganic.
The Fitch is fully equipped to support scientific analysis of ceramics, metals and metallurgical remains, vitreous materials, lithics, building materials, mortars, pigments and soils. The main facilities concern analytical chemistry, optical microscopy and replication experiments for the study of ancient crafts, exchange networks and technological landscapes.
The Analytical Chemistry Unit houses the Fitch’s Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (WD-XRF: BRUKER S8 TIGER 4KW). This instrument analyses samples for their bulk chemical composition down to trace element levels. It is mainly used for fully quantitative bulk chemical analysis of homogenised samples (fused pellets). A special calibration method was developed in-house for ceramics and relevant materials (Georgakopoulou et al. 2017). A range of certified reference materials of soils, rocks, ceramics, and iron-rich minerals is also available for preparation and/or verification of analytical calibration methods.
The Microscopy Lab provides access to a range of optical microscopes, equipped with digital photography and video systems:
The Preparation Labs are equipped with a large range of tools, allowing various preparation strategies needed for sample examination and analysis, with a focus on the preparation of thin section and mounted polished sections, as well as fused pellets. Different saws, various types of grinding, milling and polishing equipment, thin-sectioning and resin-mounting tools, drills, as well as various types of furnaces for sample drying, loss-on-ignition investigations, refiring tests and experimental firings. There is also general equipment for experimental work, mainly for processing of sediments and replication experiments for ceramic objects (pots, tablets, loom weights etc.), from paste recipes to forming and firing.
Over the years the Fitch has built up unique set of Reference Collections to support research on Archaeometerials:
The Fitch provides facilities for the systematic study and scientific analysis of human bones, seeds and human remains.
The Bone and Seed Lab is one of the most heavily used rooms in the Fitch housing the study and analysis of finds from a number of BSA and BSA-affiliated projects all over Greece. It provides ample space for strewing assemblages, as well as access to reference collections for animal bones, molluscs and seeds.
The animal bone reference collection (ca. 180 items) has been prepared from modern animals and consists of two parts organised by anatomical element and species, respectively. The fish and mollusc collections are stored separately as complete disarticulated skeletons. The botanical collection has been also prepared from modern plants (ca. 2,200 items).
In addition the Fitch also provides access to the Preparation Labs (e.g. for bone thin section preparation), the Microscopy lab, as well as to cameras, callipers and osteometric boards for recording archaeological material.
In addition, associated survey equipment and mobile data processing facilities are provided for on-site use.