Metallographic Studies of Archaeological Iron Objects and the Issue of Assessing Their Preservation State

Abstract

The appearance of iron metallurgy accelerated the historical progress. The discovery of new sources of iron ore and the emergence of new purification, tool processing and manufacturing methods have largely influenced the history of all mankind. Archaeological finds of iron products indicate the development level of communi­ties in certain periods of time, and whether they had access to high-quality raw materials, used advanced or outdated technologies at the time, etc. Metallographic studies are helping to answer these questions. However, in most cases the preservation of archaeological iron leaves much to be desired. In this regard, in order to pre­serve archaeological iron products and improve restoration methods, it is necessary to combine restoration and metallographic studies.

Keywords

• restoration
• archaeology
• metallurgy
• metallography
• iron
• steel
• alloy
• welding
• forging
• technology