1 INTRODUCTION

Objects made of silver and copper alloys have frequently been recovered from shallow land burial or shallow seas. Corrosion products may contain information as to the original composition of an alloy and the conditions to which it has been subjected. Extraction of information is facilitated by using stability diagrams for interpreting archaeometallurgical corrosion data, especially in cases where microbiological action has resulted in corrosion phenomena that are otherwise difficult to interpret.