Abstract
Abstract In Europe, the metallurgy of copper has been a tradition for thousands of years, which is also testified by relevant artifacts that can be found. A copper ingot of unknown origin was made available for the examinations. The surface of the ingot was characterized by a deposit of corrosion products from malachite and cuprite which could also be observed in cavities. XRF measurements resulted in Cu as the main component, up to 4 wt. % As, and 2.5 wt. % S, as well as smaller quantities of Sb, Ni, Fe, and Ag. This composition suggests the production from fahlores. A typical cast structure with copper dendritic areas and concentrations of the accompanying elements in the interdendritic areas could be observed. Delafossite crystals (Cu3Ni2SbO6) were verified on the ingot's top side (melt in contact with the air). The ingot is thus composed of an As bronze with a complex microstructure consisting of solid solutions, intermetallic phases, and sulfides.
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