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Archaeometallurgical Investigation of Joining Processes of Metal Objects from Shipwrecks: Three Test Cases

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Abstract

This article presents archaeometallurgical research of three types of metal objects excavated underwater from two shipwrecks in Israel: Tantura F (mid-seventh-end of eighth centuries ad) and Akko 1 (first third of nineteenth century). Both non-destructive and destructive methods were employed. The finds were manufactured by joining processes; therefore, the studies concentrated on metallurgical processes. However, these researches were multidisciplinary, combining typological analyses of the archeological objects, as well as the historical perspective. The first case study is of an iron anchor from the Tantura F shipwreck. This anchor has a typical heterogeneous wrought iron microstructure of ferrite–pearlite–cementite and Widmanstätten plates, manufactured from several blooms made by the direct process. The blooms were joined using forge-welding by an expert blacksmith, resulting in a high-quality iron product. The blooms used in the anchor’s circular cross-section shank were forge-welded from iron and steel pieces, producing a composite material with superior mechanical properties. The second case study presents a 12-pdr cannonball from the Akko 1 shipwreck. The cannonball was manufactured from high-quality wrought iron, with a homogenous microstructure of iron matrix and rather large equiaxed α-ferrite grains, produced by an indirect technique, using the hot-forge-welding process. As its production technique pre-dates that of the ship, it is suggested that this cannonball was manufactured in a different place and by a different technology from the other cannonballs found in the shipwreck. It is also possible that the 12-pdr cannonball might have been used as ballast. The third case study deals with brass cases from the Akko 1 shipwreck. The cases were made of brass containing equiaxed α-brass grains with twins, manufactured from rolled sheets that may have originated in Great Britain. The parts were joined by soldering with tin–lead alloy, and it is suggested that the cases were made in an Egyptian workshop.

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Acknowledgments

The underwater excavations and research of the Akko 1 shipwreck were supported by the late Ron Marlar, the Yaacov Salomon Foundation, the late Reuven Sadnai—Coral Maritime Services Ltd., the Halpern Foundation, a Sir Maurice Hatter Fellowship, the Hecht Trust, a Jewish National Fund Fellowship, the President, Rector, Dean and Faculty of Humanities, University of Haifa, and anonymous donors, to whom the authors are grateful. The underwater excavations and research of the Tantura F shipwreck were supported by the late Lord Jacobs of London, the Israel Science Foundation, the Hecht Trust, a Sir Maurice Hatter Fellowship, and the University of Haifa. The authors are grateful to them all. Thanks are due to Mr. John Tresman for the English editing and to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. The authors would also like to thank Y. Chen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, for the reconstruction simulation of anchor A (Fig. 8), and R. Ronen, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, for the SolidWorks simulation of the 12-pdr cannonball (Fig. 10). All publication rights of the underwater objects in this article, including their original pictures, belong to the excavations licensee, the last author, Prof. Y. Kahanov.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Ramat Aviv, Israel

    D. Ashkenazi & A. Aronson

  2. Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    D. Cvikel & Y. Kahanov

  3. Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel

    A. Stern

  4. Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI), 47100, Ramat Hasharon, Israel

    A. Pasternak

  5. The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    O. Barkai

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  1. D. Ashkenazi
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  2. D. Cvikel
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  7. Y. Kahanov
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Correspondence to D. Ashkenazi.

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Ashkenazi, D., Cvikel, D., Stern, A. et al. Archaeometallurgical Investigation of Joining Processes of Metal Objects from Shipwrecks: Three Test Cases. Metallogr. Microstruct. Anal. 3, 349–362 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-014-0153-5

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