Characterization of corrosion products on metals excavated from seal hunters' occupation in Antarctica in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Abstract

The Project ‘White Landscapes: Archaeology and Anthropology in Antarctica’ studies human occupation in Antarctica. Many archaeological artifacts were found in the Livingston Islands, which are valuable in understanding the seal hunters' occupation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the characterization of corrosion products on excavated iron, lead, and copper metallic artifact alloys. The characterizations were carried out by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, spectroscopy of absorption in infrared, and scanning electron microscopy. Goethite, hydroxypyromorphite, malachite, and pseudomalachite were the major products found in iron, lead, and copper artifacts, respectively. The origin of phosphate corrosion products was attributed to phosphorus in the soil, due to sealers’ activities.

Keywords:

• Antarctic archaeology
• Metallic artifacts
• Infrared spectroscopy
• X-ray diffraction
• X-ray fluorescence
• Scanning electron microscopy