Cette sculpture précolombienne serait en orichalque – Smithsonian Museum
Cette sculpture précolombienne serait en orichalque – Smithsonian Museum

When the mythical island of Atlantis was submerged (metal detectors) by the ocean, she disappeared with all his orichalcum. The orichalcum is a metal or an alloy, scarcely less precious than gold, whose name means  copper mountains. What is unknown is made. Yet today, says a team of scientists have discovered 39 orchilacrum ingots in a wreck of 6 th century BC. AD off Sicily (telescopes)
With 39 bars, this discovery is fairly unique. This ship, of 2600 years old, from Greece or Asia Minor, carrying this unknown metal in Gela in Italy when he was caught in a storm and sank 300 meters from the port. (metal detectors)
To Sebastiano Tusa of Sicily maritime office "Nothing similar has ever been found, we knew from orichalcum ancient texts." Plato described orichalcum in the Critiasas "a shiny metal like fire." Suggesting that it is an alloy of copper and gold. This metal would have been used to cover the interior of the temple of Poseidon.
Experts agree that orichalcum is an alloy resembling brass that had to be made by reacting zinc, coal and copper. When this new metal found off Sicily was analyzed, it was found that it was composed of 75 to 80% copper, 15 to 20% zinc and some nickel, lead and iron . (metal detectors)
This is not the first time that scientists believe to have discovered orichalcum. For example, Enrico Mattievich, a former professor of Physics at the University of Rio de Janeiro, refuses to believe that orichalcum has something to do with the brass.According to him, the ancient Greeks had discovered America. Moreover, an alloy like that described by Plato was found in sculptures shining "like fire" and composed of 9% copper, 76% gold and 15% silver. (telescopes)
The mystery of the precious metal Atlantean remains whole and has not finished talking to him. The team will now extract all the wreckage. Scientists hope to learn more about the craftsmanship in Sicily and on the economic history of this region.