ABSTRACT Ancient iron objects from early Iron Age archaeological sites are almost always severely corroded, which can severely limit the possibilities for their archaeometallurgical analysis. In this paper, a range of corroded iron objects from different sites and regions of the ancient Near East are investigated with the purpose of developing an integrated scientific approach to the investigation of such materials, outlining the capabilities and major technical limitations of currently available techniques. Specific objectives of the research include: (1) Assessing the state of degradation of ancient ferrous objects in respect to the portion of remnant carburized areas preserved; (2) Identifying metallographic structures and evaluating the carbon content from the observation of remnant carburized areas; (3) Developing an understanding of the representativeness of remnant carburized areas in corroded ferrous samples; and (4) Exploring the validity and technical constraints of SEM-EDS analyses of slag inclusions in corroded iron artefacts for the determination of provenance. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

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调查腐蚀的铁物体的方法：来自阿拉伯东南部和伊朗西部史前遗址的例子

摘要早期铁器时代考古遗址的古代铁器几乎总是受到严重腐蚀，这可能严重限制了其考古冶金分析的可能性。在本文中，对古代近东不同地点和地区的一系列腐蚀铁物体进行了研究，目的是开发一种综合科学方法来研究此类材料，概述了现有技术的能力和主要技术局限性。研究的具体目标包括：（1）就保留的剩余渗碳区部分评估古代铁器的退化状态；（2）从残余渗碳区的观察中识别金相组织并评价碳含量；（3）理解腐蚀的铁质样品中残余渗碳区域的代表性；（4）探索用SEM-EDS分析腐蚀铁制品中炉渣夹杂物以确定来源的有效性和技术限制。图形概要