ABSTRACT
Metallurgy was invented around twenty thousand years ago in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Far East, and skilled technological methods of working metals and decorating techniques were achieved (Ogden, 2000). Metallurgy, a domain of materials science, is concerned with the physical and chemical behavior of metals and alloys. Metallography is used in the evaluation of museum artifacts to reveal the structure of metals on a microscopic level, grain configuration, inclusions, the nature of corrosion, and features that indicate if the metal was worked or cast. Metallography also facilitates object authentication, by distinguishing forgeries from original artifacts.
