We are partners in the National Centre of Competence in Research ‘Muoniverse’ – a new lighthouse project of the Paul Scherrer Institute and the University of Zurich. The focus is on research with muons – elementary particles that allow materials to be examined in depth and at the same time non-destructively.

Thanks to ‘Muoniverse’, the usable muon beams will be much better focused in future. This will enable high-precision analyses even on the smallest samples and open up new fields of application.

Groundbreaking opportunities for archaeology

This opens up promising prospects for archaeology. Muons can be used to examine archaeological artefacts and monuments in a non-destructive manner. For example, they can be used to determine the composition of elements, reveal hidden layers, structures and cavities, detect forgeries, and specify manufacturing processes and dates. In 2017, the same principle of muon radiography was used to detect secret cavities in the Pyramid of Cheops. The further development of muon research would be a fundamental step forward and open up unique opportunities for the archaeological sciences.

Our role in the project

We contribute two particular strengths here: as a major archaeological research and education centre, we have an extensive collection and many years of experience in the archaeological analysis, conservation and contextualisation of archaeological finds. Together with the Swiss National Museum, we formulate specific questions from practice and contribute to the further development of new technologies specifically for the research and preservation of cultural assets.

In addition, we are responsible for communicating the research results together with the Swiss National Museum and are developing formats to make the research from ‘Muoniverse’ understandable and accessible to the general public – a central concern of the project.

Katharina Schmidt-Ott, Head of Conservation Research at the Swiss National Museum, and Lilian Raselli, Director of the Augusta Raurica Museum, are responsible for this.

A project with international appeal

There is already considerable interest in muon technology, which is supported by numerous institutions in science, culture and industry. Muoniverse is a lighthouse project with international prominence. We are proud to be part of it.

More on this topic

PSI press release

Our Hercules statuette was already used in a muon experiment in 2022:

Tiefe Einblicke in römerzeitliches Metallhandwerk (in German, Augusta Raurica magazine, 02/2021)

Hercules and batteries, X-rayed (PSI news, 08.06.2022)