Determination of the manufacturing methods of Indian swords through neutron diffraction

The analysis of the micro-structural features of ancient Indian swords has been carried out by neutron diffraction as well as by metallography. The results provide a clear identification of the different materials used to produce weapons. Only a small proportion of the large number of swords produced in India historically is made of hypereutectoid textured steel, namely wootz steel also (misleadingly) known as "Damascus steel". Neutron diffraction analysis was applied to a group of four swords and the micro-structural and compositional characteristics were non-destructively identified for all of them, revealing the use of strongly differentiated construction methods to produce the four swords and the peculiar micro-structural features of at least one kind of wootz steel. This result is an important starting point to lead to the comprehension of the metal preparation and the forging procedure to produce wootz steel. This kind of results is a further proof of the validity of the use of neutron scattering techniques for authentication and characterization of ancient metal artifacts.