"Haifuki Silver" (cupelled silver) found by excavation of the Ruins

"Haifuki Silver" was found from the layer dated between the last part of the Edo Period and the beginning of the Meiji Era, which had lain under a muck bank (heap of discarded stones) in Dashitsuchidani District of the Ruins. This is the first "Haifuki Silver" excavated in the Ruins, confirming that silver was refined by cupellation there. The excavated silver is now exhibited in the Iwami-Ginzan Silver Mine Museum. The muck bank under which the silver was excavated

[About the excavated silver] Analysis through non-destructive fluorescent X-rays shows that silver makes up nearly 80% of the excavated article. Other than the silver, bismuth, lead, copper and iron on the front, and calcium, which is considered to be an element of the cupellation furnace, have also been detected on the other side. The silver content of the article cannot be accurately measured at present since the non-destructive analysis method is used from the surface, but it is hypothesized that a high percentage of silver is contained. Judging from the detected chemical elements and its form, the article may have been an unfinished "Haifuki Silver" produced in the refining process. The stage at which the refining process came to a halt, however, is yet to be determined. (Takashi Murakami, chief researcher of Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute)

<< Back