Initial experiments on arsenical bronze production

The work reported in this article forms the basis for an extended study of arsenic bronze. The ease with which a copper-arsenic alloy could be prepare d by fusing copper metal with arsenopyrite has been shown; conditions can b e readily adjusted to yield alloys with compositions equivalent tb those ma de in antiquity. While iron-metal prills were found in the fused crucible r emains, it is probable that such metallic iron will only be observed in anc ient crucible sherds when full vitrification has taken place, otherwise the iron will weather over time to oxide.