Archaeometallurgical characterization of Late Antique personal adornments. The necropolis of Cortijo del Chopo (Granada, Spain)

Abstract

Objects of personal adornment from Late Antiquity have been extensively studied in the Iberian Peninsula since the 19th century, when the first funerary contexts from that period began to come to light. However, only partial information was available with regard to their production process and chemical composition. This came from the archaeometallurgical studies carried out on funerary assemblages from central and northern Iberia. In order to obtain a more complete picture, a set of 80 copper-based alloy objects were analysed, most of ornaments and parts of them, from the necropolis of Cortijo del Chopo (Granada), in southeastern Spain. The results from the portable X-ray fluorescence reveal the presence of a wide variety of alloys and confirm the practice of recycling metals to make the items, a characteristic of the metallurgy of the period. Lead isotope analysis provide evidence of a local production of brass objects with a high Zn content, similar in appearance to gold.