I would agree with David killick on this. An added variable is the scale
on which the copper was being smelted. If a crucible rather than hearth
was a container you can find structures from the fully reduced to the
fully oxidised in a very short compass. Also, the ease with which oxygen
is acquired by molten copper is considerable. I have occasionally seen
copper flat axes from the British Isles where there are dendrites of
cuprite, and I have also seen fragments of 3rd millennium BC copper
artifacts frpom northern Italy which are just about completely the
copper-cuprite eutectic.
Peter
--
Dr Peter Northover,
Materials Science-Based Archaeology Group,
Department of Materials, University of Oxford
Tel +44 (0)1865 283721; Fax +44 (0)1865 841943 Mobile +44 (0)7785 501745
e-mail [log in to unmask]
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