A synchrotron x-ray producing device such as the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory is discussed which will present the research worker in the field of archaeometry with a number of new possibilities. These derive from the following fundamental characteristics of the extracted x-ray beam: (1) its extraordinary intensity, 4-5 orders of magnitude greater than that of bremsstrahlung produced by x-ray tubes; (2) its polarization in the plane of the synchrotron ring; (3) its energy tunability. Among the archaeometric applications, one may readily identify very fast, sensitive, bulk analyses of materials such as ceramic and stone, for provenance research, spot (microprobe) analysis capability, for obtaining structural information on artifacts, scanning applications leading to images of the distributions of particular elements, and element speciation on a micro scale. There is every reason to believe that this instrument will quickly take a prominent place in archaeometric research. -- AATA