FTIR Gas Analyser Reveals Toxicity of Ancient Siege Technique

A revolutionary gas analyser from leading environmental instrumentation company Quantitech (UK) has played a starring role in a major History Channel series.

The Milton Keynes based company was contacted by Wild Dream Films, who were looking for instrumentation to measure toxic gases in air to feature in an episode of a series called Ancient Discoveries. Following consultation with Quantitech’s Dr Andrew Hobson, the production company used a Gasmet DX-4030 gas analyser to measure the toxic gases emitted from smouldering materials, in an episode which recreated the Roman siege of Ambracia in 189BC.

The DX-4030 is a new analyser based on tried and tested Gasmet technology providing both field-usability and high levels of analytical performance. The DX-4030 employs FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy) analysis producing almost instantaneous readings for multiple compounds across a wide measurement range that extends to sub-ppm levels.

According to Wild Dream Films: “In Roman times there was a siege technique called sapping, which involved excavating tunnels under fortresses and castles and then surprising the enemy. A method to prevent this was blowing toxic smoke from smouldering chicken feathers into the tunnels. The DX-4030 from Quantitech allowed us to measure the toxic gases this produced.

“By using the DX-4030 we found that the level of toxic gases was extremely high and potentially poisonous. The analyser was very easy to use and enabled us to shed new light on these siege prevention techniques.” The DX-4030 is more commonly used for the analysis of workplace and process gases in applications as diverse as contaminated land, chemical spill response and industrial hygiene.