Analysis of the Elemental Composition of Four Bronze Sickles Dated at the Late Bronze Age

Abstract

The present study presents the analysis of the elemental composition of four bronze sickles, three with hooked handle and one with holes on the handle, two from the deposit at Valea lui Darie, Vaslui county, one from the bronze deposit at Ciorani, and one discovered in a dwelling from the settlement belonging to the Noua culture from Dodești, following systematic archaeological research. The sickles from the Valea lui Darie deposit belong to the Ghermănești type, the Ghermănești variant, the Ciorani sickle to the Ilișești variant of the Ghermănești type, and the Dodești sickle to the Heleșteni type. These types of sickles are characteristic for the Late Bronze Age east of the Carpathians, being chronologically placed between XII – X BC. The elemental composition of the four pieces was identified by employing non-invasive analysis with a mobile spectrometer, Thermo Niton XL3, resulting in a composition of a binary copper-tin alloy (Cu-Sn), to which a number of secondary elements are added: arsenic, antimony, iron, nickel, lead, titanium, and sulphur. In the case of the sickle from Dodești, the percentage of lead is 1.593% which could come from the composition of the copper or tin ores used, given that the percentage should be higher than 2-3% to be considered an intentional addition. Arsenic was also identified in the composition of the four sickles, but in small percentages, > 1%, most likely coming from the composition of the copper ore used. The elemental composition of ancient artefacts enables the establishment of correlations between different types of objects, production areas, raw material resource areas, and distribution patterns. Based on the elemental composition, the four sickles fall into the group of copper objects with arsenic, antimony/antimony, and nickel as the main secondary elements.