10-20-2009, 02:03 AM
Kineas is pretty well right on the money when it comes to how Corinthian helmets were made. 
D ........as he points out, all 'ancient bronze' began as being poured/cast either into an ingot or some other shape ( see conclusion below), since there was no rolled/sheet bronze back then.
A Corinthian helmet from Olympia in the manchester museum was suspected on various grounds of having had a "reproduction" noseguard added to it, probably in the 19 C when found and "restored" - it was evident the cheekpieces which had been ritually flattened had been bent back into their original position.
A non-destructive examination using X-ray fluorescence revealed the materials used and crystallographic texture data obtained on a neutron diffractometer revealed how it had been made......
Here is the conclusion:
"Neutron and synchrotron X-ray analytical techniques were used to characterize a Corinthian-type
bronze helmet in the Manchester Museum. The alloy of the helmet consists predominantly of Cu(copper)
with a varying Sn(tin) content between 11 and 12 wt %. The neutron data contain clear indications of
the working processes involved in the production of the helmet. The observed degree of
microstrain broadening hints to repetitive annealing-hammering working cycles in order to harden the alloy.(elsewhere the report refers to hammering over a rod-type stake/anvil, just like those shown above in this thread. ) The last step was most likely a hardening step.(cold-working/hardening)
The preferred orientation of grains, as displayed in the texture maps, agrees with hammering in one direction. The object was more than likely cast as a ‘skull-cap’, then beaten and heated in an iterative cycle and dressed down to its final thickness and shape to fit the customer’s head.
Considerable effort was undertaken by the makers of the helmet to harden the alloy. Hence, the
object was surely produced for battle rather than just cast for ceremonial purposes.
The nose guard of the helmet is made of a different alloy, namely Cu/Zn. (a modern type brass, of similar colour/appearance to ancient bronze - which is very different from modern "bronzes")
One can assume that the nose guard, being made of a different material, is most likely not part of the original helmet
but is a later replacement, maybe by the 19th-century finder of the object. This confirms earlier
suggestions that the shape of the nose guard is unusual and that the present angle at which it
is set is not functional and therefore not authentic, and that the edges of the nose guard itself and
of the holes for fixing the lining are much sharper than on the rest of the helmet."
D ........as he points out, all 'ancient bronze' began as being poured/cast either into an ingot or some other shape ( see conclusion below), since there was no rolled/sheet bronze back then.A Corinthian helmet from Olympia in the manchester museum was suspected on various grounds of having had a "reproduction" noseguard added to it, probably in the 19 C when found and "restored" - it was evident the cheekpieces which had been ritually flattened had been bent back into their original position.
A non-destructive examination using X-ray fluorescence revealed the materials used and crystallographic texture data obtained on a neutron diffractometer revealed how it had been made......
Here is the conclusion:
"Neutron and synchrotron X-ray analytical techniques were used to characterize a Corinthian-type
bronze helmet in the Manchester Museum. The alloy of the helmet consists predominantly of Cu(copper)
with a varying Sn(tin) content between 11 and 12 wt %. The neutron data contain clear indications of
the working processes involved in the production of the helmet. The observed degree of
microstrain broadening hints to repetitive annealing-hammering working cycles in order to harden the alloy.(elsewhere the report refers to hammering over a rod-type stake/anvil, just like those shown above in this thread. ) The last step was most likely a hardening step.(cold-working/hardening)
The preferred orientation of grains, as displayed in the texture maps, agrees with hammering in one direction. The object was more than likely cast as a ‘skull-cap’, then beaten and heated in an iterative cycle and dressed down to its final thickness and shape to fit the customer’s head.
Considerable effort was undertaken by the makers of the helmet to harden the alloy. Hence, the
object was surely produced for battle rather than just cast for ceremonial purposes.
The nose guard of the helmet is made of a different alloy, namely Cu/Zn. (a modern type brass, of similar colour/appearance to ancient bronze - which is very different from modern "bronzes")
One can assume that the nose guard, being made of a different material, is most likely not part of the original helmet
but is a later replacement, maybe by the 19th-century finder of the object. This confirms earlier
suggestions that the shape of the nose guard is unusual and that the present angle at which it
is set is not functional and therefore not authentic, and that the edges of the nose guard itself and
of the holes for fixing the lining are much sharper than on the rest of the helmet."
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
