Corrosion studies on archaeological copper alloys are of great interest, mainly due to the limits in applying corrosion theory to archaeological contexts. This work concerns a hoard of 144 Roman imperial coins showing different corrosion patterns and conservation conditions. The aim of the research is to use non-destructive tests to explain this behaviour by correlation the variables describing the system "hoard". A transition from orichalc (brass) to bronze was confirmed to occur for coinage alloys in the period AD 160-180. In general, corrosion resistance improves with increasing zinc and worsens with increasing lead. It was also found that high zinc alloys may suffer from dezincification that can be inhibited by the presence of tin.
Composition-related corrosion in archaeological copper alloys: preliminary investigations on a coin hoard from the Fidenae territory
2007
Abstract
Corrosion studies on archaeological copper alloys are of great interest, mainly due to the limits in applying corrosion theory to archaeological contexts. This work concerns a hoard of 144 Roman imperial coins showing different corrosion patterns and conservation conditions. The aim of the research is to use non-destructive tests to explain this behaviour by correlation the variables describing the system "hoard". A transition from orichalc (brass) to bronze was confirmed to occur for coinage alloys in the period AD 160-180. In general, corrosion resistance improves with increasing zinc and worsens with increasing lead. It was also found that high zinc alloys may suffer from dezincification that can be inhibited by the presence of tin.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
