An archaeometallurgical study of two harquebusier breastplates using time-of-flight neutron diffraction

摘要

Neutron diffraction patterns were collected from two harquebusier breastplates: one dated round 1600-1650 AD while a second, initially bought as an object dated to the same period, showed after our analysis to be a replica from around 1850-1900 AD. Using data from the time-of-flight diffractometers GEM and ROTAX we determined the compositional variations of the plates and also investigated their manufacturing using texture analysis. The fragments and distinct positions on the breastplates shows that the iron plates are mainly ferrite with a few percent cementite. Oxidation products like wuestite and magnetite have been detected. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.