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Metallographic structures and corrosion: cross-section investigation of archaeological iron objects from the Qin-Han Yueyang City site in Xi’an, China

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Abstract

Iron corrosion is a complex process that occurs in buried artefacts. In this work, we studied thirteen iron artefacts excavated from the Yueyang City site in Xi’an, China, which was a capital city during the Qin and Han dynasties approximately 2000 years ago. Metallography, SEM–EDS, and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used for artefact examination, and the results indicated that these iron artefacts were made from indirect processes of white cast iron, mottled cast iron, cast iron with solid-state decarburization, and liquid-state decarburization. Preferential corrosion was closely related to the metallographic phase. Lamellar pearlite was more easily corroded than ferrite, while ferrite was more preferentially corroded than spheroidal pearlite. Slag inclusions readily initiated the corrosion of the surrounding metal substrate. The main corrosion products were goethite, magnetite, hematite, lepidocrocite, and akaganeite. The results of this work provide a deeper understanding of the corrosion mechanism of iron artefacts and can be used to evaluate the necessity of de-chloride conservation.

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Data Availability Statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are included within this published article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly appreciate the funding obtained from the Xi’an Institute of Conservation and Archaeology (20SFSF0010). We also thank Rui Liu, Xiaojuan Huang, Weiqun Yao, and Yamin Zhang for their help with data collection and experimental analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Xi’an Institute of Conservation and Archaeology, Xi’an, 710068, China

    Fengyan Zhao, Fei Guo, Chen Wu & Bo Gao

  2. Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an, 710061, China

    Wenbin Fu & Lu Bai

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  1. Fengyan Zhao
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Correspondence to Fengyan Zhao.

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Zhao, F., Fu, W., Bai, L. et al. Metallographic structures and corrosion: cross-section investigation of archaeological iron objects from the Qin-Han Yueyang City site in Xi’an, China. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 138, 64 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-03643-1

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