Reflectance spectroscopy reveals mineralogy and preservation of ceramics from the Bidong Shipwreck.

ABSTRACT: Shipwreck ceramics are rarely analysed in situ since conventional mineral tests require sampling and jeopardise conservation. This study present the first application of full-range visible-near-infrared (VIS-NIR, 350-2500 nm) reflectance spectroscopy to shipwreck ceramics, analysing 30 sherds from the 16th-century Bidong wreck off Peninsular Malaysia. CIELAB colour space reveals the a*-b* linearity improves markedly from R² ≤ 0.50 on uncleaned surfaces to 0.80 in clean-powder subsamples, providing an objective metric for de-encrustation. High chromaticity and pervasive hematite document dominantly oxidising, whereas a minority of grey fabrics signal reduction firing conditions. Varimax-rotated PCA (VPCA) resolves 18 spectral components in intact sherds but only 11 after cleaning, demonstra

SUBMITTER: Yunos NKM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12475043 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature