Thermal analyses of selected soil samples from the tombs at the Tianma-Qucun site, Shanxi, China

This paper describes a study of selected soil samples from three of the tombs at the Tianma-Qucun site, Shanxi province, China, using thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. The results of the analyses indicate that these soil samples are calcite-rich and contain a few percent of organic matter. The soil from the location of one of the tombs was found to have less calcite than the soil from the other two tombs. There was, however, only a small difference in organic matter in the soils from the different tombs. Results for soil samples taken from regions in the proximity of archaeological objects, however, demonstrated that the microenvironment as characterised by the soils for objects in various locations of the one tomb varied. Some evidence for the presence of charcoal and collagen based material was found.