The archeology of the Oil Industry. Identifying the bitumen industry in Antiquity and the development fo a GCxGC and an LCxLC toolset for the geochemical sourcing of bitumen. (01p12016)

The "Archeology of the Petroleum Industry" will lay bare the root of what currently can be considered as the biggest commerce in the world: the petroleum industry. Although what may seem as a 20th century commodity, actually started in Antiquity with trade in bitumen; a petroleum-related product which surfaces naturally. The import of Iranian bitumen into the Persian Gulf during the late third- and second millennium B.C. may be considered as the advent of this industry. Until now, all work that has been done on bitumen has been focused on its consumers and the raw material import processes. This research will place a unique scope on the entire industry; on the exploitation of the raw materials and its transportation networks.