  Neutral ytterbium atoms embedded in solid neon qualitatively retain the
structure of free atoms. Despite the atom-solid interaction, the 6s6p $^3$P$_0$
level is found to remain metastable with its lifetimes determined to be in the
range of ten to hundreds of seconds. The atomic population can be almost
completely transferred between the ground level and the metastable level via
optical excitation and spontaneous decay. The dynamics of this process is
examined, and is used to explicitly demonstrate that the transition broadening
mechanism is homogeneous.
