Abstract
This paper aims to show different ways the original surface of archaeological metal artefacts can be preserved in the corrosion products. Depending on the corrosion mechanism, the original surface can be located owing to some features that can be used as clues. These feature include the remains of metallurgical structure fossilised in the corrosion products, the content of elements either coming from the soil or from the original alloy, and cleavage occurring at some corrosion interface. Moreover, some of the features of the corrosion layers can be compared with what happens at the very beginning of the corrosion process despite a relative gap in knowledge as regards the very long term corrosion mechanisms.
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