This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the metallographic study of ancient metals. Metallography is important both conceptually as a microstructural science and in terms of its application to the study of ancient and historic metals. Metallography is a well-established methodology for the characterization of the microstructure of metals, which continues to be significant today in quality control and characterization of metallic properties. Not only does the metallographic examination of ancient metals present its own challenges in terms of sample size and interpretation of evidence, but it must be integrated with archaeological data and cultural research in order to obtain the most meaningful results. Issues of authentication and the establishment of fakes and forgeries of metallic artefacts often involve metallographic evidence of both metal and patina or corrosion interface, as an essential component of such a study. The present volume sets out the basic features of relevant metallic systems, enhanced with a series of examples of typical microstructural types, with illustrative case studies and examples throughout the text derived from studies undertaken by the two authors. This book provides a comprehensive presentation of metallography for archaeologists, archaeometallurgists, conservators, conservation scientists and metallurgists of modern materials.

Prof. Dr. David A. Scott is Professor Emeritus, Department of Art History, UCLA, Los Angeles, and Founding Director, UCLA/Getty Conservation Programme in Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials from 2003-2017. Prior to this appointment he was Head, Museum Services Laboratory at the Getty Villa from 1987-2003, and before that was a Lecturer in Conservation, Department of Conservation and Materials Science, UCL Institute of Archaeology, from 1981-1987. Professor Scott is the author of over 140 peer-reviewed papers and eight books. His latest book, Art: Authenticity, Restoration, Forgery, was published by UCLA Cotsen Press in 2016. Dr. Roland Schwab is currently deputy director of the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie in Mannheim, Germany and associate professor (Privatdozent) for Archaeological Science at the University of Tübingen. Dr. Schwab obtained a degree in archaeological conservation science at the University of Applied Science in Berlin, a PhD in archaeometry from the Department of Materials Science of the University of Mining and Technology in Freiberg, and proceeded to take postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation) for Archaeological Sciences at the faculty of science of the University of Tübingen.