Take it to the Grave. Traces of Production, Post-Casting Treatment and Use of Metal Objects from Urnfield Cemeteries in Lower Austria

Abstract

Within the scope of a master’s thesis, investigations of traces of use on selected knives, pins and razors from two Urnfield Culture cemeteries were conducted to gain insight into the Late Bronze Age chaîne opératoire concerning the production and processing of deposited artefacts. Selected finds from two sites, 3 km apart from each other in the Lower Traisen Valley, Lower Austria, were sampled for the study. Inzersdorf ob der Traisen is the slightly older site dating mainly to Ha A with activity in both preceding and subsequent periods (late 13th–11th century BC). The cemetery of Franzhausen-Kokoron is attributed to Ha A2 – Ha B3 (early 11th–8th century BC). Copper-based knives, pins and razors are some of the commonly deposited metal objects in the graves of both cemeteries. Taking into account the object biographies and the Late Bronze Age depositional customs, the production steps, traces of further processing and modes of use of the objects and their development in the course of the Late Bronze Age will be examined in more detail.