TGMS analysis of archaeological bone from burials of the late Roman period

The use of thermogravimetric analysis-mass spectrometry (TGMS) to study the state of preservation of archaeological bones has been investigated. As part of a collaborative multi-analytical study, bones exhumed from graves of the late Roman period in France and Italy were examined. A decrease in organic matter for the archaeological bones compared to that for new bone was confirmed, demonstrating that diagenesis of aged bones can be detected using TGMS. Different amounts of collagen were determined for bones from different graves and could, for the majority of specimens, be correlated with the visually observed preservation states.