Student Hayley Simon publishes research on synchrotron techniques to study iron cannonballs

SEAHA student Hayley Simon alongside her supervisors and researchers from SEAHA partner Diamond Light Source have published research on synchrotron techniques to study iron cannonballs from the Mary Rose in Angewandte Chemie.

The work combines multiple X-ray based methods to probe the inner workings of iron artefacts following 35 years of conservation treatments. The study focuses on looking at the chlorine content of the cannonballs; mapping how the element is distributed across the objects and identifying the species of chlorine present. This has given an unprecedented insight into the impact of conservation on a molecular scale, crucial information that will help protect this cultural heritage for many decades to come.

The work has also received significant media coverage and was featured on BBC News, and the Smithsonian Magazine.

Links

• Read Hayley Simon, A Synchrotron-Based Study of the Mary Rose Iron Cannonballs, in Angewandte Chemie
• Featured in BBC News and The Smithsonian Magazine
• Find other publications by SEAHA students