Characterization of some archaeological iron and bronze artifacts at king Farouk corner museum in Helwan

The Farouk Corner Museum in Helwan contains iron and bronze artifacts in its garden and marina. These artifacts are an iron table with decorative units and the royal crown with the name of King Farouk made of bronze. These artifacts were deteriorated by the impact of their presence near the Nile River as a permanent source of high humidity, as well as air pollution in the Helwan area, in addition to the absence of periodic maintenance. The heterogeneous surface layers were examined using a stereomicroscope and a scanning electron microscope, and it was found that they consist of rust products mixed with grains of quartz and dust. The analysis with the EDX unit attached to the scanning electron microscope revealed the presence of iron, chlorine and oxygen in the iron table samples. The elements copper, tin, oxygen, calcium, magnesium, chlorine and carbon also appeared in the samples of bronze works. The appearance of these elements is due to the components of iron and bronze works, and the contents of their surface layers of various rust products mixed with sand and dust grains. These results were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis of the presence of magnetite Fe₃O₄, lepidocrocite FeO (OH) and quartz SiO₂ minerals in the iron table samples. Also, the presence of cuprite Cu₂O, atacamite Cu₂Cl(OH)₃, paratacamite Cu₂(OH)₃Cl and quartz SiO₂ in the samples of bronze works. Finally, the necessary treatment and maintenance operations were recommended for iron and bronze works after studying their condition to protect and preserve them from deterioration.