Experimental Study of Chalconatronite: From Its Identification to the Treatment of Copper Alloy Objects
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript offers an exciting contribution to conservation science and
the case study makes the investigation very practice-oriented, that’s brilliant!
In addition to the comments listed, I would recommend formulating individual paragraphs more stringently (e.g. the conclusion).
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
The manuscript should be checked by an english native speaker.
Author Response
Dear reviewer,
First of all, we'd like to thank you sincerely for your interest in our article and for taking the time to read and correct it. Your contributions help to improve its quality. We're delighted to be able to present these experiments and share our experiences.
We have taken all your comments into consideration. Please the details in attachment.
Kind Regards.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsWishes to the authors
- Carry out a more detailed comparison of the results of SEM / EDS and XRD analyses for each of the investigated objects, as well as a comparison of their results. Taking into account that the sensitivity of SEM / EDS analysis is about 0.1 % of the substance, and that of XRD analysis is only about 2 % for substances with complex phase composition, a complex analysis of the results of these types of analysis is very effective.
- Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) combined with scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used to identify elements on microsamples. But the phrase “SEM-EDS analysis showed the presence of copper (Cu) and sodium (Na)” seems too general and uninformative to describe the results of this type of analysis. Please provide the results of the SEM/EDS analysis in full, indicating the weight % or atomic amount of the chemical elements you have identified in each of the samples. Please also describe the sample preparation procedure.
- X-ray diffraction (XRD) structural analysis was carried out to characterise the synthesised chalconatronite. The artificial chalconatrite studied by the authors is essentially a reference prepared by them, which should potentially be compared with the phase composition of the oxides on the surface of the artefacts actually being the direct subject of their study. Therefore, it seems highly desirable to provide the phase composition (XRD) of the oxides of the studied statuettes and its comparison with the reference prepared by the authors. The phrase “According to the results of XRD analysis of Egyptian copper alloy objects it was found that their main composition is lead bronze” seems insufficient. Please provide, please, complete results of phase determination in the objects you have examined, namely: individual reflexes for each of the defined phases, names and chemical formulae of the substances you have defined. Please also describe the procedure of sample preparation for XRD analysis.
Author Response
Dear reviewer,
First of all, we'd like to thank you sincerely for taking the time to read and correct this article. We're delighted to be able to improve the presentation of our experiences thanks to your expertise..
We've tried to take all comments into careful consideration.
In attachment, few details of the comments received.
Kind regards.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
