Tin isotope ratios in Early and Middle Bronze Age bronzes from central and southeastern Europe

Abstract

The paper presents the results of two case studies. A first sample set includes tin isotopic compositions of 15 bronzes from three large hoards of the Early Bronze Age Únětice Culture in Central Germany. A major research question was, whether local tin from the Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains or from different sources was used to produce the artefacts. The tin isotope composition in the bronzes of these comparably early hoards of the classical phase of the Únětice Culture shows a small variation. The second sample set comprises 16 isotopically investigated objects from Romania and Hungary, belonging to hoards and settlements. In addition, the tin isotopic compositions of a dagger and an axe from Crete were examined. Considering the large geographical distance between the finds a major research question was, whether the tin isotope composition of central and southeastern European bronzes differ, and whether the isotopic compositions of the Aegean bronzes differ from those of the Carpathian Basin. Generally, it can be said that the tin isotope composition in this second sample set show a slightly larger variation than observed in the bronzes of the Únětice Culture. The Cretan objects show 124/120Sn isotope compositions, which are higher than the southeastern as well as the central European samples. This suggests that different tin sources might have been used to manufacture the bronzes. The paper discusses the variation of the tin isotope compositions and their bearing on the debate about tin trade in Europe.