Bronze Fragments Research Articles

Dödens former och material

This text concerns recent excavations and interpretations about the large Early Iron Age burial ground Jordbro in Österhaninge, south of Stockholm. During three years between 2017-19, six low cairns, eleven small deposits of cremated bone, ceramics and bronze fragments without superstructure, and sixteen trial trenches were excavated in the previously untouched north-eastern part of the burial site. The small deposits were found close to the rock in the northernmost part of the burial ground and comprise a hitherto unknown phase of Bronze Age burials at Jordbro. The low cairns also provided novel information about the Early Iron Age view of death and burial. For example, the consistent asymmetry between the burial pit and the superstructures indicates a prolonged burial ritual where the latter was erected some time after the inhumation of the bodies. Moreover, the careful selection and use of stone and different minerals in the burials is interpreted as an intentionally compiled assemblage arranged for generative purposes rather than only to constitute memorials of dead individuals.

Bronze casting in Late Antiquity in the Marche Region

This essay reviews the discovery of three sites where deposits of bronze fragments have been found, in the Roman cities of Pisaurum, Sentinum and Potentia. Each site yielded small bronze fragments and some tools, which lead us to suppose that these were sites of Late Antique foundries, where large bronze statues and other bronze objects were broken up to be remelted. The foundries were located on land previously occupied by taverns in the forum area or by residential quarters. This means that the urban plan of the cities had already been partially transformed, probably due to Christianisation and the construction of churches, which became the new community centres, to the detriment of the older areas of the forum. The rampant poverty and shortage of raw materials, especially metals, made foundries indispensable and, consequently, their widespread presence, even within the cities, probably became customary. Perhaps the numerous bronze fragments found in other centres of the region should also be interpreted in this same sense, as indications of foundries, even if the structures where the metal was worked have not been preserved.

Raetia resumed. Between iconography and context

This paper’s title, “Raetia Resumed,” is largely intended to reflect the fact that earlier research on the Raetian bronze fragments was interrupted and subsequently resumed by a project entitled Römische Großbronzen am Limes – Fragmente im raetischen Raum. Herein, we shall offer a panoramic perspective on several case studies that demonstrate the variety of the contexts and the fragments as well as aspects of their chemical and isotopical composition. Analysis of these fragments from an interdisciplinary perspective yielded archaeological and historical, iconographical, and archaeometallurgical data that encapsulate the complexity of Raetian culture.

Corrosion of ancient Chinese bronze fragments from different periods and protective effect of menthol coating

Chinese ancient bronze fragments from three periods of history were investigated in terms of the characteristics of substrate and patina. The non-destructive protective effect of menthol coating was verified. Patinas on the fragments of the Spring and Autumn period, Warring State period, and Han Dynasty all contain the major components CuCl2·3Cu(OH)2 and Cu2(OH)2CO3. The residual components, some oxides and chlorides of Pb and Sn, show no evident distribution trend in the patinas except PbCl2 is segregated beneath the patina of the Han dynasty fragment. Menthol coating shows a consistently protective ability for these patinated fragments. However, its sublimation is strongly affected by ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH). Menthol coating with an initial thickness of ∼500 µm could effectively protect the fragments for 328 h under 23 ℃ with 54% RH while for only 42 and 2 h respectively under 25 ℃with 100% RH and 35 ℃ with 100% RH.

An exceptional case of a textile bag from the Atlantic 2 Late Bronze Age hoard at Hellez, Saint-Ygeaux (Côtes-d’Armor)

Asbtract. The Hellez metal hoard was discovered at Saint-Ygeaux, in the Côtes-d’Armor region of Brittany. The excavation of the hoard area provided a rare opportunity to make in situ observations. This article presents a detailed typological study, as well as microwear observations and a textile study. Fifty metal fragments were brought to light, some of which were still preserved in a bitronconic ceramic vessel. At the bottom of the vessel, thirteen small bronze fragments were found grouped together in a small linen bag closed with a herbaceous sprig. These objects appear to have been used as weights. Based on its composition, the hoard is clearly attributable to the Atlantic 2 Late Bronze Age (swords with tripartite tongues and grooved blades, spearheads with short sockets, massive palstave axes with no central rib). Certain typological characteristics also point to a recent phase of BFa 2, in particular the features of an almost complete sword. These observations are confirmed by the absolute dating of the vegetable fibres of the bag, in the following interval: 1056-917 cal BC.

A small change revolution. Weight systems and the emergence of the first Pan-European money

In the Bronze Age (c. 2300–800 BC), European communities gave up their economic independence and became entangled in a continental trade network. In this paper, we will test the hypothesis that the adoption of a ‘Pan-European’ currency has favoured the development of such a network. We define a methodology to test the money-hypothesis in pre-literate economies, based on analogies with the material characters of metallic money in the Ancient Near East. The statistical properties of metals from European hoards are compared with those of balance weights, in order to test the following expectation: if they were used as money, complete objects and fragments are expected to comply with standard weight systems. The results meet the expectation, and indicate that bronze fragments possess the same statistical properties as hack-silver money in the Ancient Near East. The sample includes approximately 3000 metal objects, collected from two test-areas: Italy and Central Europe. The sample of balance weights includes all the items known to date for pre-literate Bronze Age Europe, collected within the framework of the ERC Project ‘Weight and Value.’

Archaeological and environmental cave records in the Gobi-Altai Mountains, Mongolia

Though hundreds of caves are known across Mongolia, few have been subject to systematic, interdisciplinary archaeological surveys and excavations to understand Late Pleistocene and Holocene environments. Previous cave excavations in Mongolia have demonstrated their potential for preservation of archaeological and biological material, including Palaeolithic assemblages and Holocene archaeology, particularly burials, with associated organic finds. In other cases, cave surveys found that stratigraphic deposits and archaeological materials are absent. The large number of caves makes the Mongolian Altai Mountain Range a potentially attractive region for human occupation in the Pleistocene and Holocene. Here we present the results of an interdisciplinary survey of caves in four carbonate areas across the Gobi-Altai Mountains. We report 24 new caves, some of which contain archaeological material recovered through survey and test excavations. Most caves presented limited sedimentation, and some were likely too small for human habitation. Six caves showed evidence of palaeontological remains, most likely from the Late Holocene and recent periods. The most notable anthropogenic findings included petroglyphs at Gazar Agui 1 & 13. Gazar Agui 1 also contained lithics and a bronze fragment. Tsakhiryn Agui 1 contained 31 wooden fragments that include an unused fire drilling tool kit and items commonly found in association with medieval burials. We observed that the caves remain in contemporary use for religious and economic purposes, such as the construction of shrines, mining and animal corralling. Water samples from the caves, and nearby rivers, lakes, and springs were analysed for their isotopic compositions (δ18O, δD, δ17O, 17Oexcess, d-excess) and the data, combined with backward trajectory modelling revealed that the Gobi-Altai region receives moisture mainly from western sources. These results form a baseline for future archaeological, palaeoclimate and palaeoecological studies about regional seasonality and land use.

The ʿAzorbaʿl bronze fragment from Byblos: reading economy and society in Early Phoenician

The present article offers a thorough re-edition of the tenth- or ninth-century bce ʿAzorbaʿl bronze spatula inscription from Byblos (KAI 3), with attention to its epigraphic and palaeographic features, ancient use contexts, and metallic materiality. The text is interpreted as the record of a debt paid in smelted silver to ʿAzorbaʿl; this payment resolves previous economic relations between ʿAzorbaʿl and the individual on whose behalf the text was written. A newly secure epigraphic analysis is enabled by recent photographs, and the lexical analysis is supported by newly considered cognates for this inscription’s lexemes {nšbt} “smelted” and {mgšt(-)} “tax(es)” in Egyptian Aramaic and biblical Hebrew, respectively.

Un inedito frammento di “Pugilatore” dal santuario nuragico di Santa Vittoria di Serri

This contribution proposes an unpublished bronze fragment of boxer from the nuragic sanctuary of Santa Vittoria di Serri and introduces the study of the iconography of the so-called boxer in Sardinian bronzes, starting from the analysis of the statues from the archaeological site of Mont'e Prama (Cabras). This contribution also presents an experimental reconstruction of the boxer's glove, proposing a different interpretation for the instrument.

Treazzano di Monsampolo, a Recent Bronze Age Settlement in the Middle Adriatic Area

Treazzano di Monsampolo is situated in the basin of the Tronto River in the Marche region, central-eastern Italy. In 1979, the site was investigated by the Soprinendenza Archeologica delle Marche through explorative trenches following the fortuitous discovery of a Mycenaean fine ware fragment, which constituted the first Aegean artefact from the region. The excavation, whose documentation has been lost, brought to light evidence of structures related to a settlement. The findings, which mainly include pottery but also animal bones, lithic and bronze fragments as well as evidence of an antler industry, date to a period comprising the end of Middle Bronze Age 3 (MBA 3) and the very beginning of the Final Bronze Age (FBA) (14th–12th century BC). Except for a few decorated fragments belonging to the Apennine facies, most of the pottery from Treazzano di Monsampolo shows Subapennine typical features, sometimes characterized by regional or local elements. Although the pottery does not show marked influences from the Terramare area, some evidence of these contacts can be seen in the antler industry quite well represented at the site.

OBJECTS FROM ALEXANDROPOL KURGAN IN THE COLLECTION OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF KHARKIV KARAZIN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

As known the collection of finds from Alexandropol Kurgan was stored in the Commission for the Study of Antiquities (St. Petersburg) which was reorganized in the Imperial Archaeological Commission in 1859, and at the same time collection was given to the Hermitage. In 1932 by decision of the Parity Commission items from this barrow were transferred to the Ukrainian History Museum (now the M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum). The small part of collection was left in the Hermitage for electroplating. During World War II, the Kharkiv’s part of collection became almost negligible, so from more than 4000 finds more than 100 items were survived. After the war part of the collection (about 400 items) kept in the collections of the Archeological Museum of Kharkiv University. All past documentation was lost during the war. In the new inventory books, compiled after the war, the items were marked as numbers 74—88 under the year of receipt 1945. Any notes on the possible reasons for transferring things to university storage are absent.
 The collection of Alexandropol kurgan stored in the 
 Archeological Museum of Kharkiv Karazin national university consists of the 165 round six-petal plaques, 120 seven-petal plaques, 19 round plaques with four holes along the edge, one (and one fragment) round plaque with six holes, 9 bronze crescent pendants, 12 bronze fragments of the ends of crescent and 19 small fragments from them, 64 tubular pierces (intact and in fragments), 7 silver plaques depicting the griffin and the fragment of silver typeset belt.
 Full publication of Alexandropol artifacts from the Kharkiv collection would make this complex appropriate to recreate the complete picture of the burial of Scythian chieftain and increase the further development of Scythian studies.

La proibizione dei bacchanalia tra la Magna Grecia e l'Etruria

Summary In the Greek world, the celebrations of Dionysus were different: the Rural Dionysia and the City Dionysia, the Lenee, the Antestèrie, the Oscofòrie, the Ascalia and the Bacchanalia. During the Bacchanalia, women ran, danced and screamed in the woods, and fell prey to Dionysian inebriation. In 186 BC, the Roman Senate issued a decree that limited the cult of Bacchus Dionysus in Rome and in Italy, because of sexual abuses (see Livy, Ab Urbe condita 39. 8 – 39. 18). The diffusion of Bacchanalia was a risk for people and for the dignitas of Rome. In 1640 in Tiriolo, Calabria, during the excavation for the foundations of the so-called Palazzo Cicala, a bronze inscription and fragments of columns were found; the inscription had the original text of Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus with which, in 186 BC, the Roman Senate forbade the Bacchanalia. In Latium, during the excavation of the so-called Domus delle Pitture in Bolsena, directed by the École Française de Rome, between 1964 and 1982, a fragment of a throne's base and a cherub's leg were found in a layer of ashes in an underground room. Another 150 pieces of the throne, including ribbons and fragments of a panther head, were recovered in a specific spot of the room. Fragments, carefully restored and reassembled, compose an object called Trono delle Pantere of Bolsena, datable between the end of the 3rd century BC and the early years of the 2nd century BC. The left and rear sides are better preserved. The first represents a panther sitting on a throne with a cherub on his knees while it grabs at the ears of beast; the rear side represents a pattern with wings blocked by ribbons. The front side is completely destroyed. The throne has different sets of problems on its religious meaning and its decoration, where the Dionysiac theme is clear. The panther, the cherubs and the ribbons recall the Dionysus sphere, during which he was hidden inside a cave. Indeed, the underground room of Bolsena was appropriated to Bacchanalia. This paper intends to link Tiriolo and Bolsena, through the specific cases of two cities; in the first we have a proof of the enforcement of the law in 186 BC, and in the second we have an evidence of its application, with the destruction of a throne and of a Bacchic shrine.

Spectroscopic analysis of corrosion products in a bronze cauldron from the Late Iberian Iron Age

Selected bronze fragments unearthed at Cerro de la Cruz (Almedinilla, southern Spain) were analyzed to determine the chemical composition of the corrosion products formed on their surface. The fragments came from a large bronze cauldron used in an Iberian village that was devastated in the mid II century BCE — possibly around 141 BCE. The fragments were analyzed by using various instrumental techniques including electron scanning microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, and also by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Based on the results, being buried for a long time caused the main elements in the alloy to mineralize and form stratified layers consisting of various mineral phases including cuprite (Cu2O), malachite [Cu2CO3(OH)2] and cassiterite (Sn2O). The fragments also contained chloride and trihydroxychloride compounds such as nantokite (CuCl) and atacamite [Cu2Cl(OH)3], respectively, which make conservation of archaeological objects troublesome. These results testify to a strong interaction of the alloy elements with soil components. Also, the results obtained suggest a Type I of corrosion structure. Using the SEM–EDS, XRD and XRF and micro-Raman spectroscopies allowed corrosion products in the fragments to be successfully characterized in microchemical and structural.

Recycling the Glory of Byzantium

The article is dedicated to one of the less studied aspects of the Byzantine–Early Islamic period transition: the recycling of valuable materials—marble and bronze—as reflected in the archaeological findings discovered during the salvage excavations at the Givati Parking Lot site in Jerusalem. In the course of the work, a portion of one of the major streets of Byzantine Jerusalem was exposed, which once served as an important pilgrimage route of the city. During the Umayyad period the street was severely damaged, and the entire area was turned into an industrial zone. Of special interest are the raw materials used in the industrial installations discovered during the excavations. These include precious imported marble veneers and fragments of liturgical furniture, which had been used as raw material for lime production in a large limekiln constructed on the original course of the Byzantine street; and scraps of bronze fragments of liturgical vessels, some decorated with crosses, which were discovered together with metal slags, pottery crucibles, and fragments of production waste, all testifying to the presence of a small-scale metallurgical workshop at the site.

Javier Álvarez-Mon, with contributions by Gian Pietro Basello. “Like a Thunderstorm: Storm-Gods “Sibitti” Warriors from Highland Elam”

In the early years of excavation at the Elamite lowland capital of Susa, the French archaeological mission headed by Jacques de Morgan uncovered a large decorated and inscribed bronze fragment (Sb 133, Musee du Louvre) in the Acropole mound, which is considered to have been the traditional religious zone of the site. This fragment, sometimes referred to as a “plaque”, preserves two registers of imagery in relief. The upper register depicts a row of (at least) seven near-identical armed male f...

Microstructural and Componential Characterization of the Plating Technology on Chinese Han Dynasty Bronze Fragments

The bronze wares of the Han Dynasty excavated in Chongqing are decorated with plating patterns, maintaining an exquisite lustre right up to modern times after the covering patina is cleared away. In this paper, a plated fragment of the Han Dynasty from the Wushan County Museum was characterized by combining optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy with X‐ray energy‐dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X‐ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the bronze fragment was gilded with a ~ 3 μm thick gilded layer and a ~ 20 μm thick silvered layer. The high concentration of Hg and Hg‐rich intermetallic compounds confirmed the existence of mercury gilding/silvering technology, for example, Au9Hg in the gilded layer and Ag13Hg7 in the silvered layer. An ordered stripe structure was observed in the gilded surface, corresponding to the formation of rod‐like, intermetallic Au–Hg compounds. Specifically, a high concentration of Au was detected in the silvered layer. The exploration of gilded/silvered bronze casts light on this ancient technology and the benefit of identifying, protecting and reproducing it.

A new Late Bronze Age warrior equipment from East Central Europe

The aim of this study is to evaluate a Late Bronze Age (Ha A–Ha B1) “assemblage” in the collection of the MoD Military History Institute and Museum (Budapest). It consists of significant defensive (greaves, conical helmet) and offensive weapons (a flange-hilted sword with a mount of the sheath) as well as a Fuchsstadt type cup, three flange-hilted knives, a wagon model part and several other unidentifiable sheet bronze fragments. According to the museum’s inventory book, the objects in question were acquired in the 1990s. Unfortunately, their find-spot and find circumstances have not been recorded. Nevertheless, the results of the macroscopic examination and the typo-chronological analysis suggest that the artefacts probably buried together as parts of an East Central European (perhaps Hungarian) hoard or grave assemblage.

Just Recycled? A New Light on Roman Imports in Central Germany According to the ‘Central Little Farmstead’ of Frienstedt, Thuringia

Between 2000 and 2003, near Frienstedt, Kr. Erfurt, in central Germany, a settlement, graves, and what is presumably a cult site from the Roman Iron Age, were partly excavated. The habitation of the settlement started at the end of the first century AD, and ended around 400 AD. From the middle of the third century, ten inhumation graves were set out, surrounding a Bronze Age graveyard in a loose circle with a radius of about 120 metres. Two of these are little chambers of a ‘princely couple’. In the centre of the site are several shafts with a presumed ritual function. About 1,500 bronze fragments show a distinct connection with the Roman Empire in the third century, possibly in part due to Germanic soldiers recruited by the Roman army.

AN ANCIENT CHINESE BRONZE FRAGMENT RE‐EXAMINED AFTER 50 YEARS: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MODERN AND TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES

Modern analytical techniques, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, in‐situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction and Raman microscopy, alongside scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis and powder X‐ray diffraction, were used to investigate bronze fragments from an ancient Chinese bronze vessel (also known as a hu) in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Previous compositional results obtained by R. J. Gettens in 1951, using traditional optical metallography and powder X‐ray diffraction, were compared with the present analysis. The investigation provided a complete description of the composition of the ancient metal alloy and spatially resolved identification of the major and minor corrosion products. Furthermore, the study also provided the opportunity for a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the various instrumental techniques available to the analyst for the study of ancient bronzes.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and imaging of ancient Chinese bronzes

High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction and imaging experiments were performed at the Advanced Photon Source on two ancient Chinese bronzes from the Art Institute of Chicago with the goal to nondestructively study their microstructure. The first object, a bronze fragment from an early Western Zhou dynasty vessel (Hu, 11th/10th century B.C.), was investigated with spatially-resolved diffraction to reveal the depth and composition of the surface corrosion layer as well as the composition and grain size of the underlying bronze core. The second object, a bronze dagger-axe (Ge, 3rd/2nd century B.C.) with a silver-inlaid sheath, was studied under both diffraction and imaging conditions. It was found to have been cast as a single object, answering longstanding scholars’ questions on whether the ceremonial object concealed an interior blade.