Archaeometallurgical investigation of ancient artefacts’ degradation phenomenon

Abstract

Archaeomaterials suffer from various degradation such as atmospheric corrosion, under-deposit corrosion and underwater corrosion etc.; however, the extent of degradation depends on the composition of materials, environment, manufacturing process and post-processing technology such as surface treatment like carburization etc. The corrosion (degradation) phenomenon of ferrous artefacts is very complex and has received significant attention for understanding the ancient metal technology and for designing the conservation pathway of historical artefacts. This review highlights the mechanism of degradation under different environments and also paves a path for the future studies by using different analytical techniques to advance the existing knowledge.