The article presents the experimental results obtained by combining noninvasive techniques (OM, SEM/EDX, XRF) to analyze three artifacts made of copper alloys discovered in a inhumation tomb (2) and in the soil profile (1) in archaeological sites from Neamt County Romania. To uncover the mechanism of alteration thereof during their longtime underground stay in specific chemical conditions and under the influence of other pedological factors, the corrosion products must be identified. The excess of the chloride ion, from burial site, disturbs the Liesegang effect, transforming the bulk in a stratified sponge structure with chlorapatite and hydroxyapatite. Some of the compounds from primary and secondary patina can be found on the surface of the bulk, as color stains. The presence of alloy components (Cu, Sn, Pb, Zn, Fe, etc.) and of the underground contamination components, allowed us to establish the origin of the ore, the manufacture technology and we identified other materials which affected the artifacts after abandonment.
This article presents the atypical formations in the structure of the corrosion crust and in the partially mineralized metallic core, which resulted during the underground stay of a bronze shield, dated between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. For our study, we choose a representative fragment from the rim of the shield, which was analyzed by optical microscopy and by electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, to study its morphology, its composition, and the location of chemical compounds on the surface and inside the bulk formed during the underground stay, by processes of chemical and physical alteration, assisted by contamination with structural elements from the site. Those processes, by monolithization and mineralization formed a series of structures consisting of congruent elements and phases with a complex composition. Those formations, defined as surface effects generated by exogenous factors and endogenous factors inside the bulk, are frequently found in ancient bronze objects (such as the exterior flat mole formations and the Liesegang effect in the stratigraphic structure of the bulk). Some of those structures have atypical characteristics as regards their structure, composition, and formation mechanism, which may be used in archeometry. Moreover, that includes the object in the category of special cases, in terms of artifact evolution during underground stay and of the atypical formations resulted from the action of pedological and environmental factors.
This paper presents the study of three bronze socketed axes discovered in Neamţ County, Romania. The surface structures and those from the interface of the corrosion layer with the metal core of the basic alloy were analyzed, in order to elucidate the nature of the materials used and the manufacturing processes. The analyzes by optical microscopy (OM) and electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with X-ray spectrometry (EDX), revealed the type of their degradation during the depositional period, as a result of the processes of chemical alteration and physical damage. A series of metallurgical techniques used were also established, as well as the identification of some finishing and decoration processes that led to the establishment of the objects’ functionality.
The paper presents the chemical composition and mineralogical distribution of the corrosion crust, more so the chemical composition and the texture of the metallic core on three silver coins dating from the seventeenth century, discovered in various tombs in the necropolis belonging to the former Stratenia Church from Iasi. These were examined by the corroboration of optical microscopy, electron microscopy coupled with X-ray diffraction (SEM-EDX) and the micro-FTIR techniques. The data allowed to establish the main alloy and of the evolutionary contexts during the laying period, based on the texture of the metallic core and on the layout of corrosion products.
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