Roman alloying practice

On the basis of a large number of published and unpublished analyses of Roman artifacts, the alloying traditions used in the production of a number of types or groups of objects are discussed. For each group, only a limited number of fairly well-defined alloys were used, probably depending on the manufacturing technique used, the color of the metal, and its mechanical properties. Three main types of bronze and two types of brass are identified. Leaded bronze was produced by addition of lead to a well-defined bronze and leaded gunmetal by mixing the leaded bronze with brass.