Metallurgical characterization of brass objects from the Akko 1 shipwreck, Israel

Journal Article · Sun Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Materials Characterization

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MATCHAR.2014.02.012· OSTI ID:22340366

Cvikel, D. ^[1]; Stern, A. ^[2]; Klein, S. ^[3]; Kahanov, Y. ^[1]

---

1. Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, 31905 (Israel)
2. Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)
3. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Facheinheit Mineralogie, J. W. Goethe Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

The Akko 1 shipwreck was a small Egyptian armed vessel or auxiliary naval brig built in the eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of the 19th century. During the underwater excavations, about 230 brass hook-and-eye closures were found, mainly in the bow area. In addition, 158 brass cases were found, mainly between midships and the aft extremity of the shipwreck. Metallurgical non-destructive and destructive characterizations of selected items were performed, including radiographic testing, XRF, lead isotope analysis, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS and microhardness tests. The hook-and-eye closures and the cases were both found to be made of binary copper–zinc alloy (about 30 wt.% zinc). While the brass cases were made from rolled sheets, hand-made using simple tools, and joined by tin–lead soldering material, the brass hook-and-eye closures were hand-made from drawn brass wire, and manufactured from commercial drawn brass bars by a cold-working process. The lead isotope analyses suggest different provenances of the raw materials used for making the brass objects, thus the different origins of the ores may hint that the brass wire and sheet were imported to the workshops in which the objects were manufactured. - Highlights: • Brass cases and hook-and-eye closures were retrieved from the Akko 1 shipwreck. • Both types of objects were made of binary copper–zinc alloy (about 30 wt.% zinc). • The cases were hand-made from rolled sheets and joined by tin–lead soldering. • Hook-and-eye closures were made from drawn brass wire manufactured by cold-working. • Lead isotope analyses suggest that the origins of the raw material were diverse.

• OSTI ID: 22340366
• Journal Information: Materials Characterization, Journal Name: Materials Characterization Vol. 92; ISSN 1044-5803; ISSN MACHEX
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
BRASS
COLD WORKING
COPPER
LEAD ISOTOPES
MICROHARDNESS
MICROSTRUCTURE
OPTICAL MICROSCOPY
RAW MATERIALS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SOLDERING
TIN
X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS
ZINC