Pitfalls and Possibilities of Patinated Bronze: The Analysis of Pre-Roman Italian Armour Using pXRF

Joshua Emmitt,Jeremy Armstrong,Andrew Mcalister

doi:10.3390/min11070697

Abstract

Despite the importance of weapons and armour as part of material culture in the Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE, such objects have generally not been studied beyond stylistic analyses. Bronze was extensively used in the construction of these materials; however, its characterisation is complicated due to patination and the different manufacturing techniques used. We used portable XRF (pXRF) to non-destructively characterise bronze material in a way that mitigates the distorting effects of patina. Analysis was conducted on 23 pieces of pre-Roman Italian bronze armour. Assays were taken using two different techniques; ‘single point’ assays and ‘cluster’ assays. There is variability visible across assays both on and between items, grouped both geographically and chronologically. We highlight significant trends visible in the results over time and different object types and discuss the utility of pXRF on ancient bronze with recommendations for best practice.

Highlights

Given the generally accepted cultural significance of weapons and armour within the societies of the ancient Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE (e.g., [1,2]), it is perhaps surprising that the actual physical properties of weapon and armour finds from this region and period remain largely unexplored by modern scholars
When exploring issues of provenance, production, or use, the evidence portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) offers does add to the dataset of these items
Its ability to give an indication of trace elements within ancient bronze can add to our understanding of how specific alloys were deployed in particular contexts and periods

Summary

Introduction

Given the generally accepted cultural significance of weapons and armour within the societies of the ancient Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE (e.g., [1,2]), it is perhaps surprising that the actual physical properties of weapon and armour finds from this region and period remain largely unexplored by modern scholars. Long studied for their stylistic and artistic merits, very few analyses have been conducted on the physical nature and composition of equipment finds from the ancient Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE beyond the recording of their basic dimensions and the identification of material used, which are typically described as ‘bronze’ or ‘iron’ (e.g., [3,4,5]; notable exceptions include [6,7], see [8] for discussion, and more recent work [9]). This has not stopped others (e.g., [10]) from exploring similar issues in earlier weapons and armour from the European Bronze Age

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Conclusion