I recently had the pleasure of attending the “Workshop on Advanced X-ray Characterization Technologies in Earth Sciences” held in Ljubljana from February 27-29, 2024. This event was organized by ZAG – Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia), the University of Catania (Italy), and Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A. (Basovizza, Italy). The workshop provided a comprehensive mix of theoretical lectures and practical sessions covering a range of topics:
– 3D/4D X-ray imaging techniques: principles, applications, and tutorials
– Artificial and natural building materials: environmental and health impact
– Natural and cultural heritage applications
– Multidisciplinary applications in geosciences
Organized in part by my co-supervisor, Dr. Lucia Mancini, and my colleague from Elettra, Marko Prašek, the workshop was an excellent opportunity to meet and network with other professionals in the field. It was also a valuable learning experience, particularly regarding image analysis approaches.
I was honored to be invited by Lucia to chair the session on ‘Heritage Sciences.’, as it allowed me to introduce some great speakers, including Dr Gabriele Lanzafame, Dr Luca Bondioli, Dr Vito Mocella. During the sessions we discussed fantastic research Advanced X-ray characterization techniques used for the preservation of cultural monuments in Sicily, how we can study human hard tissue microstructure in the context of evolution, and virtually unwrapping of ancient scrolls. I also had the chance to introduce the enigma project with a poster presentation. The workshop also included an excursion: a petrographic itinerary walk through the historic centre of Ljubljana and a guided visit to the National Museum of Slovenia. I must say that I was really impressed with the archaeology exhibit in the museum—the items on display were very nicely contextualized with highly informative and engaging information panels. One item in particular caught my attention: the oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute. This treasure of global significance was discovered in the Divje babe cave near Cerkno and has been declared by experts to have been made by Neanderthals. The flute is made from the left thighbone of a young cave bear and has four pierced holes. As ENIGMA focuses on the Neanderthals, although they are from different timescales, it is breathtaking to stand in front of such a special object and realize that it was used for musical purposes so long ago.