Terahertz transmission of soil samples excavated from Pinagbayanan, San Juan, Batangas

Abstract

The feasibility of using terahertz time domain spectroscopy as a non-destructive characterization technique for soil samples was presented. The soil samples were excavated from Pinagbayanan, San Juan, Batangas by a team from the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines. Sampling was based on the excavation of a 2-meter depth trench, where different compositions per depth was observed according to the archaeological data. Sample preparation included grinding, weighing, and pelletizing of the soils/sediments. Differences in the THz transmission of the soil pellets were inferred to be due to the differences in the trace metal content of the samples, as correlated with the archaeological soil/sedimentation profile.