12-31-2008, 01:54 PM
Quote:It's something like fabric (linen?), preserved with the mineralized corrosion of the belt plate itself.
If the belt plates are cupric alloy it's most likely the actual fabric survived and that they are not mineralised remains. The cupric corrosion products are poisonous for the micro-organisms that normally devour organic materials and this way the organic material itself can survive.
In iron corrosion it's not the actual organic material that is preserved but the structure of the organic material is replaced by corrosion products (so only the form is preserved, not the material itself). This is called pseudomorphic replacement.
There are exceptions, but this is normally the case.
Vale,