Same but different. Composition, production and use of bronze arrowheads from the Late Bronze Age deposit from Wrocław-Widawa in SW Poland

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The deposit of 134 metal socketed arrowheads from the Late Bronze Age settlement in Wrocław-Widawa in SW Poland was subject of multi-faceted analyses. The composition and structure of the metal (XRF, SEM, EDS) was examined in samples from 15 objects, while the whole collection underwent macro- and micro-observations of production traces and use-wear. The bulk metal XRF analyses demonstrated that the arrowheads were made of tin bronze (Sn 3.0–11.6% wt). In terms of composition and structure, the samples represented four basic structural types: (1) homogeneous, (2) diffuse dendritic with two phases, (3) well-defined cored dendritic with phases, but with subordinate volume of eutectoid tin-rich phase and (4) well-defined cored dendritic with three phases with significant volume of eutectoid tin-rich phase. The dendritic structure of the metal in the sockets is crystallographically driven while in the cutting edges it is recrystallized, homogenised or plastically deformed.The manufacturing process of such a vast and homogenous collection required efficient casting methods, as well as skilled metalworker(s). The current dating methods do not allow to precisely state if the deposit represents one casting event or was collected over weeks or decades.The traces on the arrowheads included production traces (casting seams, casting jets), casting defects (sprue remnants and openings in the sockets), inward bending of the socket (probably due to core stabilization while casting) impact on the tips and barbs. The cast arrowheads were worked to obtain the desired shape and edge qualities: the sockets and the heads were ground, while the edges were hammered and sharpened.The arrowheads bear traces of being prepared for further use: they were hammered, ground and sharpened. Fractured or bent tips and bent barbs indicate that most of them were collected after use, removed from their shafts and deposited in a ceramic container within the settlement site.