RECENT APPLICATIONS OF PIXE SPECTROMETRY IN ARCHAEOLOGY .1. CHARACTERIZATION OF BRONZES WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF CORROSION PROCESSES ON DATA RELIABILITY

Long-term burial of bronze invariably results in a number of complex chemical processes through which the superficial layers of the metal are converted into cuprite and various kinds of copper chlorides and/or carbonates. Dependent upon the environmental conditions under which such conversions are achieved, minor and trace elements in the bronze are leached out of the bulk metal with varying degrees of efficiency, thereafter tending to accumulate among the corrosion products. We discuss the practicalities and problems involved in the PIXE analysis of ancient bronzes in a nondestructive way, with particular reference to artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia.