Archeomatica (Nov 2016)
Analytical and Practical study of some fighting artifacts from Yemen
Abstract
This paper aims to know the effects of microstructure and chemical composition on mechanical properties of Cu-based alloys, to know the effects of weight percentage of tin (and other elements in Cu-Sn diagram/ system) on the material structure and mechanical properties, to know the role of microstructure and chemical composition in deterioration process and to identify the types of corrosion products of selected objects as well as their constituting metals in order to carry out scientific treatment and conservation to avoid the further deterioration. The chemical composition analysis declared that the artifacts are made of bronze alloy. The patina of the examined artifacts were consisted of two layers and composed of Cuprite, Atacamite, Paratacamite, Tenorite and Quartz. Metallographic microscopy, Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM&EDS) and X-ray diffraction were used to describe the main properties of patina layers and identified the chemical composition. The results were interpreted and classified according to chemical composition of the artifacts. Finally the obtained results helped us in treatment and conservation the selected objects.
