Neutron metallography of archaeological bronzes

Following a first demonstration on the potentials of time-of-flight neutron diffraction in the microstructural characterisation of archaeological bronzes, we present here the results of a further systematic study on the topic. The experiments were performed on standardised specimens and original archaeological bronze findings at the powder diffractometer ROTAX. The possibility to achieve various metallographic data concerning alloy composition, homogeneity, dendritic structure, metal and mineral phases, as well as the effects of hardening, annealing, and re-crystallisation processes was successfully demonstrated. Furthermore, we also report a texture analysis on a Roman coin, which provided a clear striking fingerprint thus demonstrating a powerful authentication method.