New LED technology helps archaeologists uncover details invisible to the naked eye

Researchers from Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum in Denmark have developed an LED multispectral imaging system (LEDMSI) that uses 16 wavelengths to reveal soil layers and bone fluorescence invisible to the naked eye. Tested at Iron Age and Viking Age sites, the system is cheaper than hyperspectral alternatives and aims to assist, not replace, trained archaeologists.

Researchers from Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum in Denmark have developed an inexpensive LED multispectral imaging system (LEDMSI) that helps archaeologists see details in soil and artifacts invisible to the naked eye. The system uses 16 different wavelengths, from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared, to capture differences in how materials absorb and reflect light. The findings were published in September in the Journal of Archaeological Science. The first prototype was tested at Sorte Muld, an Iron Age site on the Danish island of Bornholm, where it revealed new soil layers and made bone glow fluorescent under ultraviolet light. A second prototype, tested at a Viking Age cemetery at Fredbjerg, can take multiple photographs in about 30 seconds. Researchers are working to add machine learning to identify materials automatically, but emphasize the system is a tool to assist, not replace, trained archaeologists.

New LED technology helps archaeologists uncover details invisible to the naked eye