Copper beads

We have some copper beads from an archaeological site in Gaston
County, NC.  We would like to do some specialized analysis on them,
but they are too oxidized to get accurate readings.  They appear to
be almost pure copper because there are no alloys to suggest
European copper.  We need to clean the beads, but diamond paste will
be too abrasive.  Are there any suggestions as to what might be used
to clean these beads?  Also from this site we unearthed an
unidentified piece of metal, possibly copper.  Is it safe to put it
in distilled water to try and clean it up a bit?  Thanks in advance
for any help you can give us.

Carrie V. Duran
Collections Manager
The Schiele Museum
1500 E. Garrison Blvd.
Gastonia, NC 28054
704-869-1009


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:1
                 Distributed: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
                        Message Id: cdl-19-1-024
                                  ***