Bronze Rings Research Articles

Fiber-coupled laser-induced breakdown and Raman spectroscopy for flexible sample characterization with depth profiling capabilities

A combined laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy system for depth profile analyses is presented. The system incorporates a single 532nm laser source, which is delivered through an optical fiber to the sample site. The homogenized laser beam results in well-defined cylindrical craters with diameters of 100μm. LIBS depth profiling analyses of metals was performed applying pulse energies of about 1mJ. The application of up to 500 pulses allowed to drill through layers of several tens of microns, while observing sharp transitions at the layer interfaces. The capability of the system for Raman spectroscopy was investigated for various polymer samples by reducing the pulse energies below the respective ablation threshold. A combined Raman/LIBS depth profiling was applied to a polymer-coated metal. Additionally, the capability of the system for calibration-free LIBS quantification (CF-LIBS) was evaluated. Quantification of major elements in metallic reference materials showed good agreement with the certified values with relative deviations of less than 30%. Finally, the optimized system was applied for depth profiling and elemental composition analysis of ancient Roman bronze rings. Overall, the presented setup combines the high flexibility of a fiber-coupled system with Raman and micro-LIBS, making the system interesting for depth profiling and elemental quantification in archaeometric as well as industrial applications.

Angaben zur Kenntnis der Eisenzeit in der Südwesthälfte des Karpatenbeckens

This paper deals the Iron Age metalworks found in South Transdanubia, southern part of the Great Plain and in the Srem area. The objects are known from hoards (Szarazd-Regoly, Curog, Hrtkovci, Židovar), inhumation and cremation burials. The gold and silver jewellery (masked gold beads, wheel shaped gold amulets, crescent decorated gold beads, silver ornaments, crossbow silver fibulae), bronze astragalos belts, bronze rings, amber beads show the influence of Illyrian-Thracian workshops in the Northern Balkan. The objects can be dated to 4th–3rd centuries B.C.

Effect of laser treatment on the surface of copper alloys

The paper presents the results of laser cleaning of the archaeological metal objects using two time widths of pulsed laser radiation, which are around 150 μs and around 120 ns. Two archaeological objects made of copper alloys were studied: a bow and a ring. Both objects came from a cemetery which is located in the garden complex of Wilanow Palace in Warsaw and are dated from XII to XIII century. The bow and bronze ring had ornamental longitudinal grooving and were part of burial jewellery. The materials of which these artefacts were made of, as well as corrosion products on these objects, were studied by using a variety of analytical techniques. The phase composition of the corrosion layers was determined by using Raman spectroscopy. The surface topography as well as the chemical composition of the deposits and cleaned surfaces were investigated. The samples were examined using scanning electron microscopes equipped with EDS. The investigations included observations in SE and BSE modes and point analyses of the chemical composition by EDS.

Microstructural Signatures of Bronze Archaeological Artifacts from the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula

This study concerns the elemental and microstructural characterization of proto-historic bronze rings from the southwestern Iberian Peninsula. Micro-EDXRF analyses demonstrate that the artifacts are binary bronze alloys (8–13% Sn) with arsenic and lead as the major impurities. Optical microscopy and SEM-EDS allowed the identification of common inclusions (e.g. copper sulphides) and alteration processes (redeposited copper, intergranular and intragranular corrosion). Microstructures consisting of fine dendrites, coarse and/or equiaxial grains were also identified, as well as the presence of (+) eutectoid, deformed inclusions, twinned grains and/or slip bands. The combination of these characteristics allowed establishing the metallurgical procedures (casting, forging and annealing) used in the production of the bronze rings. The identification of different thermomechanical operational sequences indicates that the metallurgical knowledge was well established in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula during those ancient times.

Grave 22 of the Belgrade necropolis in Karaburma: Retrospective and perspective

Keltska nekropola nađena na beogradskoj Karaburmi i dalje je jedno od znacajnijih nalazista za interpretaciju povijesnih, ekonomskih i kulturnih procesa koji su se zbivali na podrucju srednjega Balkana u vremenu od pocetka 4. do konca 1. stoljeca. Ispred svega, predstavlja najobimniji izvor za pojasnjenje kronologije najstarije keltske prisutnosti na tom prostoru, te pruža mogucnost ilustracije kulturnih i ekonomskih razmjera u mreži u koju su sami bili ukljuceni. Naime, prostor je spoja Save i Dunave bio prostorom gdje su se koncentrirale i razvijale tehnoloske inovacije i ujedno prostorom gdje su se filtrirali politicki, vojni i gospodarski kontakti. Na nekropoli, nedvojbeno pripadajucoj regionalnoj vojnoj eliti, istupa nekoliko grobova u kojima su, pored standardnih priloga iz okvira regionalne materijalne kulture, svoje mjesto nasli i predmeti podrijetlom iz sireg prostora, kako latenskog tako i južnog balkanskog svijeta. Među njima, narocito istupa grob broj 22 kod kojega je bilo moguce prepoznati i pojasniti ispreplitanje tradicija i inovacija, te kulturnih ispreplitanja i međusobnih prožimanja.

Penis covering and simultaneous urethral replacement by scrotal skin for severe penile and urethral necrosis

Penile strangulation with severe necrosis and concomitant significant tissue loss is a challenging problem for reconstructive surgery. Final reconstruction and tissue augmentation of the resected penis often require multi-step plastic reconstruction. Severe damage of the phallus with gangrene and septic complication caused by a bronze ring were first conservatively treated to achieve dry gangrene. The glans of the penis, the whole penile skin, and distal third of the corpus spongiosum with the urethra were lost to necrosis, resulting in a missing urethral segment on the penis. Surgery was performed 3 months after removing the metal ring; a one-step skin and urethral reconstruction was done. Good functional and esthetic results could be achieved by mid-term follow-up. In long-lasting penile strangulation with damaged blood supply, further surgery and treatment are needed in addition to immediate decompression. Most commonly in these situations, amputation seems to be the best and easiest action to be taken. However, our case shows that even in a most severe situation, careful conservative treatment allows preserving the phallus, and subsequently reconstruction enables reaching the best functional and esthetic results.

Offertradition og religion i ældre jernalder i Sydskandinavien – med særlig henblik på bebyggelsesofringer

Offertradition og religion i ældre jernalder i Sydskandinavien – med særlig henblik på bebyggelsesofringer

Resenlund og Brøndumgård bronzedepoter – Kult og samfund i yngre bronzealder

Resenlund og Brøndumgård bronzedepoter – Kult og samfund i yngre bronzealder

Containing the Spectacle of Punishment: The Russian Autocracy and the Abolition of the Knout, 1817-1845

In 1817, Russian authorities apprehended six Tatar brigands in the port town of Feodosiia in the Crimea. Convicted of murdering seventeen people and of stealing from and desecrating a Christian church, the six were sentenced in April by the local civil and criminal court to punishment by knout–the harshest instrument of corporal punishment used in Russia. The knout consisted of a stiff thong of rawhide fastened by a bronze ring to a braided leather whip of approximately three and a half feet in length; this apparatus was attached to a wooden stick of two and a half feet that the executioner wielded. Following the knouting, the court authorized the executioner to rip out the nostrils and brand the faces of the Tatars, who were then to be dispatched into eternal exile at hard labor in the mines of eastern Siberia. Because the local court deemed these criminals especially dangerous, and because their apprehension and conviction ostensibly reinforced Russian leadership in the province, the court decreed that the knouting of the criminals be carried out in a variety of locations across the province, rather than in a single place.

A Preliminary Report on the Small Finds from Excavations at Lepcis Magna 1994-95

AbstractThis is a short report on a selection of the small finds from the excavations of a Roman house which lies to the west of the theatre at Lepcis Magna. The pottery and coins from the current levels of excavation have been dated to the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD; however, many of the objects seem to be residual. One of the most interesting finds was a solid bronze ring, decorated with two female figures. The object seems to have been functional, with the ring and the bars on which the woman are seated being attached to a soft material such as leather. These characteristics, which can be found on parallel examples, along with other bronze artefacts from the site suggest that the former was part of the decoration of a horse drawn carriage. Several pieces of jewellery were found including two gemstones which were once part of a finger ring, dating from the 2nd century AD. The first is a garnet and shows the goddess Artemis/Diane in her role of huntress, holding a bow and arrow. The second, which is a cornelian, is decorated with a portrait of a youth and may well be a local copy of a type circulating at the time. Many pieces of locally crafted bone and ivory were also found, including a bone plaque with a floral decoration which was originally intended as a decorative inlay for a small object such as a box. A similar piece from Egypt has been dated to around the 3rd or 4th centuries AD.

Frictional properties and wear of a molybdenum coating and a bronze (Cu-10%Sn) with friction modifier fillers

A new manufacturing process and a new family of composite materials (bronze matrix + friction modifiers) for lubricated tribological systems, such as synchronizer rings in manual gear boxes, has been developed. The research has provided a better understanding of lubricating oil film formation and how to stabilize it by a suitable surface chemistry and morphology, as well as the ability to produce such a surface by means of non flat powder-metallurgical (P/M) composite coatings. Commonly used synchronizers are of two types: forged brass and sintered steel with molybdenum coating. Brass synchronizers work very well when new but degrade with use. Molybdenum coatings are produced by a high cost plasma spraying. The new bronze based friction materials have reached the performance level of molybdenum coating in tribometer measurements. The tribological behaviour of the Mo and bronze ring types was characterized in lubricated conditions (temperature: - 10°C to 120°C). XPS and SEM/EDX analysis allowed to verify tribochemical reactions taking place during the working process.

Une incinération du Bronze final découverte à Florange Daspich (Moselle)

ABSTRACT A rescue dig undertaken in 1985 led to the discovery of a cinerary urn with a relatively small amount of grave goods: a bronze ring, a tubular bronze bead, fragments of a gold ring. The technical characteristics and the alloy used for the artefact are well in keeping with the typological attribution to the « Rhine, Switzerland and Eastern France » Late Bronze Age. Examination of both the remains of the bones and the metal objects, in particular the gold ring, seems to indicate that the body was cremated with its ornaments, in an uneven fire which reached fairly high temperatures (800 to 900 °C). Collaborative research on this discovery from Florange has added some interesting information to our knowledge about the regional Late Bronze Age regarding funerary practices (poorly documented until now), gold palaeometallurgy, and the first observable pa- laeopathology data.

Rapacious Birds and Severed Heads: Early Bronze Rings from Nigeria

Rapacious Birds and Severed Heads: Early Bronze Rings from Nigeria

Rapacious Birds and Severed Heads: Early Bronze Rings from Nigeria

Rapacious Birds and Severed Heads: Early Bronze Rings from Nigeria

The Early Iron Age Settlement of Hascherkeller in Bavaria: Preliminary Report on the 1979 Excavations

AbstractResults of two seasons of excavation at Hascherkeller, aided by a magnetometer survey of the site, provide a detailed view of the structure of the settlement. It consists of three contiguous enclosures bounded by double ditches, a pattern unique among excavated settlements of this period in central Europe. The evidence recovered in the first two seasons of fieldwork yields much information about a variety of economic activities at the site, including subsistence, manufacturing, and trade. Especially significant is the recovery of a mold for the casting of bronze rings. This discovery is important for our understanding of the organization of metallurgy during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages; the find demonstrates that this relatively small community at Hascherkeller was manufacturing its own luxury goods of bronze, the constituents of which had to be imported from other parts of Europe.

Nye udgravninger i Illerup ådal

Nye udgravninger i Illerup ådal

Excavations at Owslebury, Hants: A Second Interim Report

SummaryThe results of the 1968–9 seasons of excavations at Bottom Pond Farm, Owslebury (SU 525 246) are described, especially the layout of the pre-Roman settlement. Problems of the siting of the settlement, the land usage and the function of storage pits are discussed, and two inscribed bronze rings and an embossed bronze plaque are described in detail.

Friction and wear of some bronzes under lubricated reciprocating sliding

Tribological behaviors of some commercial alloys were investigated in order to obtain data for the selection of bronzes for seals and bearings in reciprocating machinery. Both stationary bronze blocks and moving bronze rings were mated with hard surfaces using a Dow-Corning LFW-1 friction and wear testing machine. The results were strongly influenced by operating conditions; sliding geometry and specific mating surfaces had major effects and small additions of fatty acid to the lubricant greatly reduced wear rates and coefficients of friction. Depending on test geometry, hardness was an unreliable guide to wear resistance or none at all. Furthermore, 20% Pb showed an advantage over 10% with one sliding geometry but not with the other and the superiority of the more coarse lead dispersions reported by previous workers was found with one test geometry but the opposite effect was found with the other.

Vendsysselske Bronzealderfund

Bronze Age Finds from Vendsyssel.Three valuable Bronze Age finds have been received in 1960 by the Historical Museum of Vendsyssel: 2 single finds of bronze swords and a collection of 45 bronze objects found in an earthen vessel.The Bronze Sword from Uggerby (fig. 1) was found by a fisherman in the river Uggerby. The sword is 63 cm long (24.8 in.) and has a slightly convex blade considerably thicker at the centre. The blade is terminated by a trapeze-shaped plate onto which the hilt is secured by four rivets that pierce the base of the hilt, which is cast in one piece with an oval bar. This bar was originally covered with bronze and horn (or bone) rings, of which four bronze rings are preserved. The pommel is terminated by a circular plate crested wih three parallel lines. The sword is dated to period II and is possibly of Eastern Central European provenance.The Bronze Sword from Måstrup (fig. 3) was found at a depth of 2-3 metres in Måstrup Bog. It was situated pointing downwards in a practically vertical position.It is a tanged sword, 71.5 cm in length (29.9 in.) with a slim, straight blade. The tang has high, curved edges and, in the curve nearest the blade, is pierced by four rivet holes. On the tang, the remains of a whitish mass, probably lead, can be seen.This type of sword belongs to period II and is probably of foreign origin.The Sæsing Find consists of 45 pieces of bronze, found in an earthen jar, at a depth of approximately 50 cm, in sandy clay soil, while digging out the foundations of a house in the village of Sæsing. The find can be divided into two groups consisting of women's jewellery and harness mountings.The women's jewellery consists of: 2 hollow-cast gorgets, each made up of three rings slantingly grooved (fig. 5), 3 pendant vessels (fig. 6, 7, 8), all with rounded bases, sloping shoulders and vertical necks. A piece of a wooden lid with a bolt attached, belonging to the bowl fig. 6-7, right, was also found. It corresponds in form to bronze lids known from earlier finds. 3 armlets (fig. 10) with slightly arched transverse section. One has a tripartite central rib, the other two have only a single central rib but have protruding strips along the edges. A spectacle fibula (fig. 11) with a solid how and undecorated, slightly domed plates. The pin is terminated by an ornamented disc. 13 ornamental buttons, probably a set, are, possibly, a belt decoration, as 12 similar buttons have been found in a grave, mounted on a leather strap. They can, however, belong to the harness mountings.The group of harness mountings consists of: 4 bit branches, slightly curved, and having a socket at one end through which a transverse rivet has been stuck. The oval central perforation shows heavy signs of wear. A similar bit is known from a find from Nymö in Skåne. 5 wheel-shaped pendants may belong to this group also, as they may have hung from the bit as jingle plates. 4 ornamental studs which have, presumably, been mounted on harness. There was a similar stud in the Nymö find.1 knobbed sickle and several small pieces of bronze could not be classed in either of the above two groups.The find as a whole belongs to period IV.Palle Friis.

A provincial Roman spur from Longstock, Hants, and other spurs from Roman Britain

In 1953 a bronze prick-spur was found without other remains, at a depth of about 2 ft. on Cleave Hill, in the parish of Longstock, Hants (no. 17, fig. 1, pl. XIV). The finder, Mr. J. Chandler, presented it to the Salisbury Museum (ace. 21/54) and it is recorded and illustrated in the Museum's Annual Report (1955), p. 11 pl. 1a.It is of extremely delicate manufacture, and the riveted prick appears to be ornamental rather than useful. It is also ornamented with a row of dots in circles round the heel, and these are enclosed in expanding lines all engraved in the bronze. The edges are lightly serrated. The arms are engraved with a spiral line, which seems to imitate the leather binding of some rougher iron prototype. Delicate bronze rings, attached to the loops, have flattened ends which are pressed together and probably once held a light leather strap, though the bronze has broken away leaving only parts of the rivet holes. There are few ornamental features from which to date this spur, but according to Jahn's typology it should fall within the first Century A.D.