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Imaging and Microstructure Analyses in Archaeological Materials
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Imaging and Microstructure Analyses in Archaeological Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 3877

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Weidong Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201899, China
Interests: archaeological ceramic materials; glaze and pigment; heterogeneity; deterioration; microstructure; compositional variability; physical chemistry; colouring mechanism; reverse engineering; provenance identification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Unearthed or handed-down archaeological relics often implicate a sophisticated level of craft practice and materials understanding. Archaeological relics manufactured by ancient craftsmen have a common feature of heterogeneity. The long-term effect of the environment may cause additional deterioration as well. To fully reflect their preservation status and judge if further conservation is necessary, one should not only focus on the compositional variability of archaeological materials, but also characterize the morphology and microstructure at various levels and scales. In addition, these can help provide evidences for reverse engineering ancient technologies, elucidating the physical chemistry of the archaeological materials, studying the production sites, and so on. Therefore, we are currently inviting papers that can continue to widen the investigation of science and technology of archaeological materials with unusual properties or process control based on carrying out imaging and microstructure analyses. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Weidong Li
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • archaeological material
  • heterogeneity
  • deterioration
  • morphology
  • microstructure
  • science and technology
  • reverse engineering
  • physical chemistry
  • production site
  • colouring mechanism

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 28742 KiB  
Article
Degradation Mechanism of a Sauce-Glazed Ware of the Song Dynasty Salvaged out of the Water at Dalian Island Wharf: Part I—The Effect of the Surface-Attached Composite Coagula
by Rao Ding, Weidong Li, Zelin Yang, Changsong Xu and Xiaoke Lu
Materials 2023, 16(3), 1176; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031176 - 30 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1459
Abstract
Dalian Island is located in the sea area near Pingtan County, Fujian, Southeast China. The sea area used to be the junction of the eastern and western ship routes on the Maritime Silk Road, and is also an important region for underwater archaeology [...] Read more.
Dalian Island is located in the sea area near Pingtan County, Fujian, Southeast China. The sea area used to be the junction of the eastern and western ship routes on the Maritime Silk Road, and is also an important region for underwater archaeology in China. This study focused on a sauce-glazed ware of the Song Dynasty, with serious degradation, which was salvaged out of the water at the Dalian Island Wharf. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to comprehensively analyze the composition, phase attributes and microstructure of the ware and the surface-attached coagula. The findings revealed that the sea wave-borne debris scoured the surface of the ware, causing mechanical damage to varying degrees and a significant decrease in its degradation resistance. This was the primary factor accounting for the poor preservation state of the salvaged ceramic ware, and the precondition for the subsequent attachment of marine organisms and the deposition of inorganic pollutants. The calcareous skeletons formed on the surface induced by the bio-mineralization of coralline algae (a type of marine plant) could resist the mechanical action caused by the motion of sea waves, thereby slowing down the ware’s degradation process. In other words, the calcareous skeletons played a ‘bio-protective’ role to a certain degree. In addition, inorganic pollutants represented by iron rusts also participated in the corrosion of the glaze. Some pollutants were directly deposited on the pits and cracks on the surface of the ware, which brought stress to the glaze and glaze/body interface, causing the glaze to further crack and spall. Moreover, iron rusts reacted with the glaze, leading to chemical alteration, accompanied by the formation of iron silicate as the alteration product. Anorthite crystals in the interlayer did not participate in the reaction but remained at the original position. The alteration product gradually replaced the original glass phase of the glaze and entered into the body via pores and cracks. In conclusion, the complex degradation morphology of the salvaged sauce-glazed ware could be attributed to the combined action of mechanical damage, marine bio-fouling, and chemical alteration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging and Microstructure Analyses in Archaeological Materials)
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13 pages, 8929 KiB  
Article
Smithing Processes Based on Hammer Scale Excavated from the Third- to Fourth-Century Ancient Iron-Making Sites of the Korean Peninsula
by Dayeon Jung, Heehong Kwon and Namchul Cho
Materials 2022, 15(12), 4188; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15124188 - 13 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1503
Abstract
The by-products of iron smelting and smithing include slag, flake hammer scale, and spheroidal hammer scale. The analysis of such iron-making by-products reveals critical information regarding the development of iron culture and the process characteristics. Using a metallographic microscope, SEM-EDS, and Raman micro-spectroscopy, [...] Read more.
The by-products of iron smelting and smithing include slag, flake hammer scale, and spheroidal hammer scale. The analysis of such iron-making by-products reveals critical information regarding the development of iron culture and the process characteristics. Using a metallographic microscope, SEM-EDS, and Raman micro-spectroscopy, we investigated the manufacturing process by examining the microstructure and determining the composition of the flake hammer scale and spheroidal hammer scale excavated from Korean Peninsula sites of iron manufacture during the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period, in the third and fourth centuries CE. Microstructure analysis confirmed that as the process progressed, the flake hammer scale’s thickness decreased owing to forging, which flattened the structure. Additionally, three layers were observed, with the surface layer identified as hematite (Fe2O3), the middle layer identified as magnetite (Fe3O4), and the inner layer identified as wüstite (FeO). The analysis of hammer scales revealed that the forging process to create iron bars required repeated working, following a refining process to remove impurities, confirming the division of labor in the smithing process. Correspondingly, the smithing process stages can be deduced from the structural shape and thickness of the hammer scale produced during the iron manufacturing process. Thus, the findings of this study are expected to be invaluable in furthering our understanding of the smithing process in detail, through future research on hammer scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging and Microstructure Analyses in Archaeological Materials)
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