EDX profiling of cross-sectioned archaeological leather

摘要

Samples of archaeological shoe leather recovered from the mineral-rich, reducing environment of a waterlogged thirteenth century site at Woodhall, North Yorkshire, UK have been subjected to XRF analysis and cross-sectional EDX mapping. To achieve the latter, resin impregnation with Spurr's reagent, followed by metallographic polishing was necessary. Clustering and segregation of Fe, Ca and S was correlated with the type of shoe part, with differences between shoe uppers and soles being typical. Mineralisation effects in samples of modern leather that had been subjected to storage in soil samples from the same site were also investigated. These investigations provide a starting point for work on reduced mineral species in such samples that are relevant to conservation.