Investigation of the Interphase Behavior of Different Bronze Alloys in Archaeological Soil of Cyprus

The analysis of archaeological bronze artifacts for the identification of corrosion products and the evaluation of possible causes of these products is carried out by a combination of different disciplines. Corrosion products seen on bronze objects have often destructive effects on the artifacts due to their complex structure and put the artifacts in a cycle of irreversible deterioration. Because each artifact is original, it is necessary to examine each one separately in order to understand and stop the cause of this destructive process. In this thesis, it is aimed to identify corrosion products resulting from the chemical and electrochemical corrosion processes of the 6 bronze bowl, selected by hoard, in a pithos from Late Bronze Age and to explain the effect of environmental-structural factors. In line with this goal, Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) for electrochemical analysis of corrosion product samples, 3 of each and 18 total, and Fourier Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used for spectroscopic examination. Electrochemical analyses and spectroscopic examinations of bronze artifacts have identified the presence of different types of copper alloy corrosion products. Consequently, corrosion types of 6 bronze bowls from the Late Bronze Age period were identified and it was observed that they were directly and indirectly related to environmental factors in the formation of these corrosion products. Keywords: bronze, corrosion, infrared spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry