The Occurrence of Metallic Iron in Ancient Copper

Abstract

Abstract Of the many thousands of chemical or spectrochemical analyses of ancient copper, principally from central and northern Europe, and available in the literature, only a few report iron in excess of 1% and, in general, of these the iron occurs in Iron Age metal. On the other hand, some recent articles report much higher iron, these data being supplemented by our own investigations. These high-iron coppers are from Sardinia, Greece, Israel, Egypt, and India, and range in date from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age.Of 61 copper specimens found at Nichoria, a recently excavated site in the sw Peloponnese, 11 were found to be ferromagnetic, and ranged in age from Early Bronze Age to Byzantine. In a number of specimens, which have been examined spectrochemically and metallographically, the magnetic response is closely proportional to the total iron in the sample.Although Iron Age copper that contains appreciable iron can be explained by accidental addition of the impurity, no suc...