Bronze jewellery from the early iron age urn-field in Mała Kȩpa. an approach to casting technology

Abstract

This study characterizes the bronze jewellery recovered from the Lusatian culture urn-field in Mała Kȩpa (Chełmno land, Poland). Among many common ornaments (e.g. necklaces, rings, pins) the ones giving evidence of a steppe-styled inspiration (nail earrings) were also identified. With the dendritic microstructures revealed, the nail earrings prove the implementing of a lost-wax casting method, whereas some of the castings were further subjected to metalworking. The elemental composition indicates the application of two main types of bronze alloys: Cu-Sn and Cu-Sn-Pb. It has been established that the Lusatian metalworkers were familiar with re-melting the scrap bronze and made themselves capable of roasting the sulphide-rich ores. The collection from Mała Kȩpa has been described in terms of its structure and composition. The investigations were made by means of the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with an energy dispersive X - ray analysis system (EDS) and optical microscopy (OM). In order to fingerprint an alloy profile of the castings with a special emphasis on the nail earrings, the data-set (ED-XRF, EDS) was statistically evaluated using multidimensional analyses (FA, DA).