Elementally, my dear Watson

In December 2015, I helped organize a workshop on the use of portable X-Ray fluorescence to identify the elemental composition of 18th century metal projectiles (i.e., musket balls) recovered from archaeological sites in southeastern North America. Consequently, I purchased a used Bruker III-V portable laboratory for my personal use. Most of my personal use involved various archaeological projects by me, and other archaeologists.

I list below all of the LAMAR Institute Publication Series, Research Reports where my pXRF analysis on artifacts was included. All of these reports are available for free download at the LAMAR Institute’s webpage.

The list does not include two cultural resource management projects where I performed, under contract, pXRF analysis. These include:

Analysis of a soil column on a Archaic/Woodland upland site on Fort Benning Military Reservation in Chattahoochee County, Georgia. Report by Stella, LLC.

Analysis of a variety of historic artifacts from the colonial period Ranger fort known as Fort Argyle, which is located on the Fort Stewart Military Reservation. Report by LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc.

What a marvelous research tool, thanks to Bruce Kaiser!

LAMAR Institute Publication Series Research:

Report Number 209. The Revolutionary War Battlefield at Purysburg, South Carolina: Search and Discovery. By Daniel T. Elliott 2016 (14.2 MB).

-This battlefield survey report, which was conducted with aid from a NPS, ABPP Research Grant, includes pXRF analysis of lead balls and cast iron artillery shot.

Report Number 213. Get the Lead Out: Towards Identifying Ammunition on Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Battlefields and Settlements. By Daniel T. Elliott and Michael Seibert 2017 (5.6 MB).

– This report summarizes the 2nd LAMAR Institute workshop on pXRF of military lead, which was held in 2017 in Savannah, Georgia.

Report Number 214. Portable X-Ray Fluorescence of Lead Ammunition from Kettle Creek Revolutionary War Battlefield, Wilkes County, Georgia. By Daniel T. Elliott 2017 (2.2 MB).

– This report details pXRF analysis on lead balls and cast iron shot from the Kettle Creek battlefield, February 14, 1779.

Report Number 215. Elemental Analysis of the Alleged Grapeshot that Killed Count Casimir Pulaski and Some Other Revolutionary War-era Cast Iron Ordnance. By Daniel T. Elliott 2017 (3.0 MB).

– This report summarizes my initial analysis of cast iron shot from several Revolutionary War sites in Georgia and South Carolina. It all began when I was asked to zap the grapeshot owned by the Georgia Historical Society, who claims that it was the shot that killed Pulaski.

Report Number 221. Elemental Analysis of Lead Ammunition from Arbuckle’s Fort (46Gb13), Greenbrier County, West Virginia. By Daniel T. Elliott, 2018 (1.1 MB).

– This report summarizes the elemental content of lead balls excavated by Kevin McBride from a colonial fort in West Virginia. I never actually visited the site.

Report Number 224. Elemental Analysis of 18th Century Cast Iron Projectiles: Georgia and South Carolina Evidence. By Daniel T. Elliott, 2020 (6.5 MB).

– This report is a follow-up to the previous analysis of the Pulaski grapeshot (Report 215). I expanded my coverage to include many additional archaeological specimens from South Carolina.

Report Number 225. Exploration of the Mattei Site on the May River: Phase III Data Recovery at 38BU1765 Beaufort County, South Carolina. By Daniel T. Elliott and Rita F. Elliott, 2019 (9.4 MB).

– In this report, I used pXRF to identify the elemental composition of Stallings Island fiber tempered pottery and soapstone vessel sherds from a shallow midden site on the May River in coastal South Carolina.

Report Number 226. The Struggle for Long Island: Expanding Revolutionary War Studies in New York. By Daniel T. Elliott and David M. Griffin, 2020 (18.8 MB).

-This battlefield survey report, which was conducted with aid from a NPS, ABPP Research Grant, includes pXRF analysis of lead balls, cast iron artillery shot and other battlefield metal items from three sites on Long Island, New York.

Report Number 227. “The Work of Today is the History of Tomorrow and We are Its Makers” Archaeology at the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. Volume 1. By Rita Folse Elliott and Daniel T. Elliott, 2020 (72.6 MB).

– This site excavation report includes pXRF analysis of a variety of metal objects recovered from the yard of the Juliette Gordon Low house in Savannah, Georgia.

Report Number 228. Elemental Analysis of Selected Brass Artifacts from the Adkins Site in Florida. By Daniel T. Elliott, 2021 (3.1 MB).

– This report details the pXRF analysis of a collection of brass projectile points and sheet brass (likely from brass kettles), which were recovered from a Seminole Indian campsite in Florida. I have not visited the site.

Report Number 229. Elemental Analysis of Four Lead Musket Balls from the 1813 Battle of the Nations, Leipzig, Germany. By Daniel T. Elliott, 2021 (3.1 MB).

– This report details the pXRF analysis of four lead balls from an 1813 battlefield in Germany. I never visited the site.

In addition to these aforementioned reports, several others are in the works, which include pXRF analysis. These are another ABPP battlefield grant project at the Ruff’s Mill Civil War battlefield in Cobb County, Georgia, and artifacts recovered from the rear of a pharmacy in Savannah, Georgia. Both of these project reports should be uploaded to the LAMAR Institute webpage later in 2021.