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Multifocus Optical Microscopy Applied to the Study of Archaeological Metals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2013

Elin Figueiredo ,
Rui J.C. Silva ,
M. Fátima Araújo  and
Francisco M. Braz Fernandes
Elin Figueiredo*
Affiliation:
IST/ITN, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686-953 Sacavém, Portugal CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciências dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Rui J.C. Silva
Affiliation:
CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciências dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
M. Fátima Araújo
Affiliation:
IST/ITN, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686-953 Sacavém, Portugal
Francisco M. Braz Fernandes
Affiliation:
CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciências dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: elin@ctn.ist.utl.pt
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Abstract

Studies on cultural metal artifacts can benefit greatly from microscopy techniques. The examination of microstructural features can provide relevant information about ancient manufacturing techniques, as well as about corrosion/degradation processes. In the present work, advantages of the use of multifocus imaging techniques in optical microscopy for the study of archaeological metals are presented. An archaeometallurgical study of a large collection of bronzes demonstrates the possibility of a microstructural study with no need for sample removal, which is a great advantage in the study of cultural objects. In addition, the study of mounted samples illustrates the advantages of the multifocus technique in the examination of particular corrosion features, with the possibility of three-dimensional reconstructions.

Keywords

multifocus imagingoptical microscopymicrostructure3D reconstructionscultural heritagearchaeometallurgy
Type
Portuguese Society for Microscopy
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 1248 - 1254
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2013 

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