CORROSION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL BRONZES FROM SAROUQ AL-HADID AND AL-QUSAIS (DUBAI, UAE)

This paper provides a comparative overview of the state of conservation of metal artifacts from two sites with long occupations in Dubai, namely Sarouq Al-Hadid and Al-Qusais. In particular, the aim is to comprehensively understand the corrosion behaviour of bronze objects in connection with their burial environment. Both sites present different soil types and rates of corrosivity, which was determined to have a significant impact, as demonstrated by the compositional analyses of both the archaeological context and the artifacts. Archaeo-metric methods used to reach conclusions on surface morphologies and corrosion layer formation were optical microscopy combined with X-ray diffraction and fluorescence, in addition to ICP spectroscopy. Results indicate a connection between soil composition and corrosion dynamic, pointing to the need for tailored approaches to restoration and conservation.