Luminescence determination of firing temperature of archaeological pure sand related to ancient Dian bronze casting, China

In the present paper, we have investigated the thermal history of an archaeological ‘core sand’ from a cow-shaped bronze ornament attached to a cowrie container. It was unearthed at the Lijiashan site, located in southwest China, in the area of central Yunnan, and dates from the Han period (3 c. BC–2 c. AD). We compared the archaeological sample and a control sample of the modern quartz, examining the sensitivity of 110 °C TL and 210° C TL glow peaks, and sensitization characteristics of 110° C TL and OSL. Large differences between the ‘core sand’ samples and the control sand samples have been observed in our work. The firing temperature of the ‘core sand’ was determined to be 550–700 °C. The results offer a key to understanding the ‘core sand’ as a unique casting technique in Bronze Age Yunnan. These luminesence techniques form a new method for determining the historical firing temperature of archaeological material.

► Thermal history of a rare archaeological pure sand sample is studied to investigate ancient Dian bronze casting technique.
► Equivalent annealing temperature of the core sand is determined to range from 550°C to 700°C, based on changes in the TL and OSL characteristics after artificial annealing.
► TL/OSL form a potential method to detect thermal history of fired material.