Best of the Week: Uncovering the Hidden Past, Previewing the ACS 2026 Fall Meeting

Spectroscopy is playing a major role in archaeology and cultural heritage analysis, and a recently published e-book of ours explores how spectroscopy has been used to help us learn more about Ancient Egypt, Europe’s cathedrals, and other sites around the world. Also, this month’s “Spectroscopy Around the Globe” episode explored how spectroscopy is helping to uncover Stonehenge’s secrets. We discuss two of these techniques––Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy––here.

This is the Best of the Week.

First up, our newly published e-book, "Uncovering the Hidden Past." This interactive resource covers the latest trends in analytical spectroscopy and how it's being applied in archaeology and cultural heritage analysis. Whether you're drawn to Egypt's tombs, Europe's cathedrals, or South America's ancient rock walls, this e-book shows spectroscopy is one of archaeology's most powerful storytelling tools, turning silent stone, bone, and pigment into vivid testimony about our shared past.¹

Speaking of storytelling, this month's "Spectroscopy Around the Globe" episode explored how spectroscopy is helping researchers uncover Stonehenge's secrets. Two techniques are at the center of this work: Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence.

Raman spectroscopy uses laser light scattering shifts to identify chemical bonds like a molecular fingerprint.² At Stonehenge, portable Raman analyzers let researchers study the massive Altar Stone on-site at night, mapping its mineralogy and distinguishing minerals other methods struggle with.² That work led researchers to challenge long-held assumptions about where the stone actually came from.

Meanwhile, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) has become a popular technique in the study of Stonehenge geochemistry. This non-destructive technique reveals a material's elemental composition by measuring the X-rays it re-emits.³ Portable XRF let scientists from the University of Brighton scan all 52 remaining sarsens in place, finding remarkably consistent chemistry across most stones, pointing to a shared source.³ Follow-up analysis using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry matched that chemistry to a site roughly 25 kilometers north, solving a long-standing archaeological mystery.³

Finally, we're previewing the ACS Fall 2026 Meeting, running August 23 through 27 in Chicago, featuring a 150th-anniversary symposium with Nobel Laureates and extensive spectroscopy programming.⁴

And that’ll do it for the Best of the Week. Thanks for watching, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time.

References

1. Workman, Jr., J.; Wetzel, W. Uncovering the Hidden Past. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/uncovering-the-hidden-past (accessed August 17, 2026).
2. Wetzel, W.; Spectroscopy Staff. How Raman Spectroscopy Can Be Used to Study Stonehenge. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/how-raman-spectroscopy-can-be-used-to-study-stonehenge (accessed August 17, 2026).
3. Wetzel, W.; Spectroscopy Staff. The Workhorse of Stonehenge Geochemistry. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-workhorse-of-stonehenge-geochemistry (accessed August 17, 2026).
4. Sundararajan, P.; Wetzel, W. Previewing the ACS 2026 Fall Meeting. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/previewing-the-acs-2026-fall-meeting (accessed August 17, 2026).