Sunday, January 11, 2015

Mysterious and legendary metal retrieved from the ship which sank in the 6th century BC.

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Legend has it that, when Atlantis (pictured fictionalised) submerged in the ocean, took all the orichalcum can't. This metal, is quoted in various ancient texts, including the criticism of Plato, and considered the second most valuable metal after gold.

Now, a team of divers announced the discovery of 39 blocks of orichalcum on a ship that was wrecked in the 6th century BCE, near Sicily. According to Discovery News, the ship will have left Greece or elsewhere in Asia minor, and was carrying metal to Gela in southern Sicily, having been caught in a storm and wrecked the 300 metres from the harbour.

"Never found anything like it. We know the orichalcum of ancient texts and a few ornamental objects, "said Sebastiano Tusa, responsible for the Ministry of the sea of Sicily.

Experts claim that the orichalcum is a bronze alloy, developed by reaction of zinc ore, coal and copper metal. When the new bricks were analyzed by x-ray, explains the Discovery, it was discovered that the metal had 75 to 80% copper, 15 to 20% zinc and small percentages of nickel, lead and iron.

Currently, the team of Tusa's working in excavations related to the rest of the ship, which may reveal new findings about the work of artisans of antiquity.

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