Identificación de las patentes de Muntz por medio de técnicas de rayos X: caracterización del revestimiento de latón de dos pecios del siglo XIX localizados en México

This article developed an archaeometric examination of the brass sheathing remains recovered from two mid-19th-century shipwrecks, in Mexico: El Ángel site and the Black Warrior (1858), studied by the Vice-Directorate of Underwater Archaeology (SAS) of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in collaboration with scholars from other research centres. The main aim of this research was twofold: on the one hand, to obtain compositional and microstructural data of brass sheets produced by the Muntz company in different periods and shed light on its features; on the other hand, to provide new data that help to assess the El Ángel site. Although the vessel’s identity has not been defined yet, the analysed evidence links it to the mid-19th-century logwood british trade. The Black Warrior was thus far preliminarily explored, but it has provided valuable data to compare with. Based on historical research and archaeometric analyses using XRD and XRF, a discussion on the manufacturing processes, materials, and patents associated with Muntz company’s brass sheathings is developed. The information obtained has contributed to the study of both wreck sites and is significant for assessing other unidentified sites.