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Atefeh Rasouli, Alireza Hejebri-Nobari, Haeideh Khamseh,
year 5, Issue 16 (9-2021)
Abstract

Abstract
In explaining Iron Age archeology, the study of metal artifacts is of particular importance because of the hidden technical values. The study of metalworking methods enhances our understanding of the industrial centers of metallurgy, stylistics, and available mines. The purpose of this study is to identify the methods of construction and elemental analysis of “ornaments” discovered from “Iron Age” sites in northwestern Iran, using metallographic experiments and an SEM-EDS elemental analysis device. In the Iron Age, the making of metal objects, especially those with many ornaments, flourished. Therefore, knowing the manufacturing methods and the type of alloy used in them is one of the essentials of this research. This research responds to the question, what methods used to make the discovered ornaments from the Iron Age sites in the northwest? Or what were the most used elements in the construction of these objects? In these areas, the current research hypothesis is that most of the “ornaments” made by hot hammering and casting methods and have a large amount of tin in their structure, which uses for greater strength and flexibility of copper and tin (bronze) alloys. In this study, several samples of ornaments discovered from Iron Age sites in northwestern Iran, which were geographically very close to each other, were tested by metallography and elemental analysis. In this experiment, using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an SEM-EDS element analyzer, making these metal objects and their constituent elements were determined. This study shows that the main methods of making these metal objects have been hot hammering, but those objects that had a large volume made using the casting method. Also, the most used element to increase the strength and flexibility of objects is the element of tin. 
Keywords: Iron Age, Northwest of Iran, Bronze Objects, Metallography, SEM-EDS.

Introduction
In the Iron Age areas of the northwest, metalworking was done at an advanced level. The expansion of the tradition of metalworking in the northwest can be seen in other Iron Age areas of Iran. (Talaei, 2001:77-83) One of the reasons for the development of metalworking in the Iron Age areas of northwestern Iran has been the abundance of copper and iron ore mines in this region. During the excavations of the Hasanlu area in the south of Lake Urmia, founded a large number of iron and bronze objects. The large volume of metal objects discovered in the Hasanlu area indicates the prevalence of metalwork in this region of the Iranian plateau. (Pigott, 1989: 67-79) According to the studies, the residents of Hasanlu have supplied their required copper ore and iron ore from the mines that probably existed around this area. The development of metalworking art in this region, in addition to the existence of metal mines and fuel reserves, has been the development of furnaces and metal smelting molds, which in some Iron Age sites such as Hasanlu, obtained a large number of these metal smelting molds. The main reasons for the development of technology and style of metal products in northwestern Iran in the Iron Age could have been powerful governments such as Urartians and Manas. (Aliun and Sadraei, 2011) They were skilled metalworkers in the vicinity of Iron Age sites. One of the signs of this effect is discovering a bronze bracelet discovered in the Toul Talesh cemetery in northern Iran, which shows the expansion of Urartian territory in this region. There is a Urartian cuneiform inscription on it. This inscription shows that Argishti II, King of Urartu, gave this bracelet to Khaledi God. This person could have been a prince or a military person. (Tahmasebi and Masoudi Nia, 2015) The main issue of this research is to know the construction methods and the constituent elements of the jewelry discovered from the northwestern region of Iran. In the Iron Age, especially the Seldouz valley, these sites are primarily located in the Seldoz Valley and are geographically very close to each other, which can help understand the methods of construction and elemental analysis of the metal samples tested. The present research has been done by analytical-experimental method and based on scientific and laboratory studies. The purpose of this study is to identify the methods of construction and elemental analysis of “ornaments” discovered from “Iron Age” sites in northwestern Iran, using metallographic experiments and an SEM-EDS elemental analysis device. This research responds to the question, what methods used to make the discovered ornaments from the Iron Age sites in the northwest? Or what were the most used elements in the construction of these objects? In these areas, the current research hypothesis is that most of the “ornaments” made by hot hammering and casting methods and have a large amount of tin in their structure, which uses for greater strength and flexibility of copper and tin (bronze) alloys.

Materials and Methods 
In this research, the first eight metal samples from different Iron Age sites in northwestern Iran were collected through the reservoir of the National Museum of Tehran and sampled in the same place, and then sent to the Materials and Metallurgy Laboratory of the Sharif University of Technology for metallographic testing.

Discussion
Laboratory analysis and elemental analysis of metal samples using the SEM-EDS method show that a small amount of arsenic was founded in the alloy composition of the samples Because most copper metal ores before extraction and smelting contain amounts of arsenic. Therefore, there is a possibility of the unintentional existence of arsenic in the composition of these metals. Another element that a large percentage obtained in the composition of these metal samples is tin. Metallographic images of the ML-98-7 and ML-98-8 specimens show that these two specimens have a branched or dendritic structure in their body and are made by casting. Also, tiny cracks on the metallographic images of ML-98-2-ML-98-3 and ML-98-6 samples formed due to stress and fatigue caused by continuous hammering work on these metal works. The dark spots seen in most of these microscopic images indicate oxygen, carbon, and a lack of copper and tin, which have caused corrosion and sulfidation of these metal objects.

Conclusion
The results from the images obtained by scanning electron microscopy equipped with an SEM-EDS device found that the metal samples have a relatively large amount of tin. A small percentage of arsenic found in the metal samples tested. Considering the amount of arsenic in these samples can be concluded that metalworkers of this period may not have noticed the harms of using arsenic at that time and therefore used this element to improve the properties of bronze alloy. Ancient metalworkers used tin, arsenic, and antimony elements in the composition of bronze alloys to increase the hardness of the work. The items in the category of jewelry need to pay more to get the right shape. Another possibility is the unintentional presence of arsenic. The presence of large amounts of tin in these samples indicates that arsenic may have been naturally present in copper ores and Ancient metalworkers used tin to lower the melting point of copper and increase its strength and flexibility. Microscopic studies of bronze objects show that many copper sulfide compounds are present in metal samples. The presence of copper sulfide inclusions dispersed on the surface of the metal matrix and stretched in the longitudinal direction of the microstructure of ancient copper alloys may indicate the use of oxide ores along with some copper sulfide ores for extraction. Most of the ornaments found in the northwestern Iron Age sites, such as bracelets and collars, were made by hot hammering, subsequent hammering or forging, and objects with larger volumes and decorations molded by casting. In general, the objects discovered from the Iron Age sites in the northwest, especially the Hassanlou site, are more complex in terms of technique and construction style than the Iron Age sites in other parts of Iran, where existed local and indigenous governments. This issue has been due to the proximity of northwestern Iran to powerful governments such as Urartu and Manna.

Yaser Hamzavi, Alireza Koochakzaei, Aliasghar Negarestani,
year 5, Issue 17 (12-2021)
Abstract

Abstract
Ganjali Khan School (Caravanserai) in Kerman is one of the prominent buildings in Kerman from the Safavid period. Valuable gypsum arrays with different techniques have been implemented in this building. Among these arrays there are the Boumsab gypsum arrays that are executed in the royal room on all sides as well as the roof of the building. One of the special features of these arrays is the color of the mortar in the layers of the lower fine coat and the upper fine coat, which can be seen in three colors: red, yellow and gray. It should be noted that in the past, a layer of gypsum plaster has been applied on the surface of gypsum arrays in this building, but fortunately, in recent years, a large part of the additional layer has been peeled off the surface of gypsum arrays. Due to being special of this architectural arrangement and have not been done any detailed scientific study on these works so far, in this article, the structure of the colored mortars of this building has been investigated. Some of the questions of this research are: What is the structure of the colored mortars of Boumsab gypsum arrays in this building? What are the Major and Minor phases of mortar composition? What was the pigment in colored mortars? In this regard, sampling was done and FTIR, EDS, XRD analyzes were performed, which along with field studies, the research questions are answered. The results of the research show that gypsum mortar with the Major phases of gypsum and anhydrite has been used in different layers. Iron oxide (goethite) was also used to color the red and yellow mortars, and ash and lime were used for the gray mortar. Also, organic materials that used to change the quality of mortar were not identified in the structure of the samples.
Keywords: Gypsum Arrays, Colored Mortar, FTIR, EDS, XRD.

Introduction
Boumsab gypsum array is one of the types of low-rise architectural arrays. In this method, abrasion of areas from the fine coat (Intonaco) surface is done in order to create a different texture between the patterns and the background, the abrasion action covers only a part of the thickness of the fine coat layer and does not reach the layers under the fine coat. This method of stucco has been common in Isfahan since the time of Shah Abbas I (Aslani, 1391: 136). Ganjali Khan School (Caravanserai) in Kerman is one of the Monument in which the high quality Boumsab gypsum array has been executed. This Monument was built at the same time as the Ganjali Khan complex in the Safavid period, and one of the most beautiful architectural spaces in terms of architectural layout is the royal room, which is decorated with a gypsum arrangement of Boumsab. One of the features of the Boumsab gypsum array in this building that makes this array one of the other Boumsab gypsum arrays that have been identified as a result of the authors’ field studies (Aliqapoo in Isfahan, Pirnia House in Nain, Aliqapoo in Qazvin, and Kalkhoran Tomb in Ardabil), is the use of colored mortar in the fine coat layers performed in the royal school of Ganjali Khan School in Kerman. In this Monument, three colors of mortar are gray, red and yellow. Due to the fact that two layers of colored substrate are used on all sides as well as the ceiling of the room, at first it seems that gypsum mosaic is of Tokhmedaravari type, but by studying it closely, it can be concluded that Bumsab gypsum array. Another point is that the Boumsab gypsum array with these properties and with three colored mortars in one space, has been studied for the first time in Iran. 

Result and Discussion
FT-IR:
In the spectrum of sample R-1 (Figure 5), the index vibrations of the gypsum can be seen in 3543, 1621, 1114, 670 and 600 cm-1 (Knittle et al., 2001: 635). However, there is a noticeable structural difference in this sample compared to the western side samples. In the spectrum of this sample, absorption bands of about 713, 874, 1430, 1800 and 2516 cm-1 are observed, which are related to carbonate vibrations in the calcite structure (Ylmen & Jaglid, 2013: 121). However, in addition to the absorption bands mentioned, bands of about 469, 521 (Fe-O), 795, and about 3650 cm-1 can be seen next to the 3543 cm-1 gypsum band. These absorption bands are generally visible in the red color spectrum of iron oxides. According to the researchers, these absorption bands and their position increase the possibility of using Hormoz bole or Armenian bole in this sample (ulaiuladienė et al., 2018: 249). 
EDS: The results of EDS analysis of the samples are presented in Table 1. For the amount of sulfur obtained from the S-2 sample in this study 13.02, the amount of 16.27% calcium is required for the gypsum composition. As can be seen in Table 2, the amount of calcium is greater than the amount required for the gypsum composition. 1.7% of the excess calcium can be related to the impurity of lime in the sample, which is normal in historical monuments. Examination of samples R-1, R-2 and R-3 show a significant amount of iron. Therefore, the results indicate the possibility of using iron compounds (ochre) as a red pigment in these samples.
XRD: Two samples R-1 and R-2 were examined using XRD, the results of which are presented in Table 3 and Figure 6. The main phases of R-1 are gypsum and anhydrite, and the sub-phases are quartz, kaolinite and goethite. The R-2 sample is similar to the R-1 sample in terms of the obtained phases, except that kaolinite is one of the main phases. Usually the scratch coat (Arriccio) has added soil and sometimes ash. A small amount of goethite seems to be sufficient to create a red color in the gypsum mortar. The study of the constituent phases of the G-1 sample structure was also performed using XRD, of which gypsum and anhydrite are the main phases and quartz and kaolinite are its sub-phases.

Conclusion
In this study, sampling was performed from different layers of colored mortar and specialized studies were performed. As a result of FT-IR, it can be said that the mortar of fine coat layers are made of gypsum with low lime impurity to which some red pigment has been added at the time of curing to make the mortar red. Also, no evidence of organic matter as additives to gypsum mortar was identified. The results of EDS analysis on gypsum mortar showed the presence of a small amount of excess calcium. Also, in the red mortars of the Bottom and top fine coat layers, iron was identified as the coloring agent and the presence of red was recently confirmed. In gray mortar, the presence of ash mixed with lime is a strong possibility. XRD analysis of four selected samples showed that the predominant phase in all four cases was gypsum and anhydrite, and only in one of the samples, kaolinite was identified as the main phase. The identified sub-phases are quartz, kaolinite and goethite. So far, no research has been published on the composition of Boumsab gypsum plaster with colored mortar. It can be imagined that at first, in order to implement the gypsum array for Tokhmehdaravari, Bottom and top fine coat layers were both applied with colored mortar, and for some reason (for which we don’t know) the decision was changed. Finally, the designs are executed only on the surface layer and And has been executed in a Boumsab manner. It is noteworthy that in the same complex (in the royal porch), a Tokhmehdaravari has been executed and can be seen at present.


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