Speaker
Dr
Nikolay Kardjilov
(Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin)
Description
High-quality armour made during the Middle Ages, such as the products of 15th century Milan, which were exported in some quantity, was frequently marked by the craftsmen who made pieces of plate armour, as well as by the “traversator” who assembled the suit. These marks can identify both the craftsman and the city and, sometimes also, the arsenal where it might have been stored. Much of the history of Medieval and Renaissance technology and trade can be reconstructed from the study of the marks, especially where they can be correlated with the purchases of customers and the written records of guilds and courts. These marks were stamped on the finished plates but frequent use and polishing has worn away the top layer of steel and, in many cases, only traces of the marks are now visible. However, if these marks had been struck in cold metal, there should still be layers of strained grains below the outermost polished layer. Forensic scientists usually etch metal artefacts such as gunbarrels in order to reveal hidden serial numbers by using strong acids to dissolve away the polished layers. This approach is, of course, ruled out for museum objects. We believed that advanced neutron imaging techniques would provide a non-invasive alternative.
In this research, we performed radiographic experiments exploiting polychromatic phase-contrast imaging, a method for contrast enhancement in transmitted neutron beams by measuring a sample made with a homogeneous material but exhibiting a different microstructure induced by mechanical actions. We were able to reveal the armourers’ marks now obscured by polishing that are present in these examples of medieval armour.
Primary author
Alan Williams
(Wallace Collection)
Co-authors
David Edge
(Wallace Collection)
Dr
Francesco Grazzi
(Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche)
Dr
Nikolay Kardjilov
(Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin)
