Characterization and Technological Origin Identification of Ancient Iron Nails
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-020-04121-8 2020 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
ARCHAEOMATERIALS
Characterization and Technological Origin Identification of Ancient Iron Nails GIOVANNA CORNACCHIA,1,2 ROBERTO ROBERTI,1 and MICHELA FACCOLI1 1.—Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy. 2.—e-mail: [email protected]
Metallurgical analyses and mechanical tests were performed on two ancient iron nails (dated to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) found at a private estate in the village of Limone sul Garda, which is located on Lake Garda in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. The nails were characterized via various metallurgical methods to assess their matrix composition, microstructure, and nonmetallic inclusion type, morphology, and distribution. These investigations elucidated the manufacturing process of the nails. The results indicated that the nails were produced by different forging techniques, and it was hypothesized that the steel utilized was obtained via two different methods (direct and indirect ore reduction), which were still in use at that time.
INTRODUCTION Unusual constructions of various dimensions stud the Brescian shore of Lake Garda—the largest lake in Italy—and attract the curiosity of visitors. These structures are ancient lemon gardens (Fig. S-1 [1] in the online supplementary material) called ‘‘lemon houses.’’ Some of them have been recently restored, e.g., the Caste`l and Teso¨l lemon houses, whereas others will be restored in the future. The history of these constructions dates back many centuries. Citrus fruits, such as lemons, oranges, cedars, and citrons, came to the Lake Garda during the thirteenth century, brought by the monks of the San Francesco Monastery of Gargnano.1,2 Later, citrus fruit trees spread from their garden in Gargnano to other towns along the lake. In the sixteenth century, Bongianni Grattarolo wrote: ‘‘For nearly ten miles along the lake, from Salo` to Gargnano, there are many gardens whose amenities do not pale in comparison with what the poets wrote of Atlantis, Alcino, and the Hesperides, full in every season the year of all those fruits with the golden peel’’.3 The cultivation of citrus fruits thrived in the early seventeenth century in Limone sul Garda. In the second half of the seventeenth century, the existing lemon gardens were expanded, and new ones were built. In those years, the sale of lemons increased, and the poor economy of the region was revitalized.
A map of the Reamo`l lemon house (1724–1725) in Limone sul Garda drawn by Giovanni Battista Nolli is shown in supplementary Fig. S-2. The lemon houses of Limone sul Garda were described by J. Wolfgang Goethe in his Italian Journey as follows: ‘‘(September 13, 1786)… We sailed past Limone, with its terraced gardens perched on the hill slopes: it was a spectacle of abundance and grace. The entire garden is composed of rows of square white pillars topped by heavy beams to cover the trees that grow during w
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