This paper analyses 20 Late Bronze Age (ca 1080–800 BC) copper alloy objects to discern their manufacture and the skills of local craftsmen. Several tools and jewellery were studied that originated from a bronze workshop located immediately next to the Prigglitz-Gasteil copper ore mining site and several contemporaneous sites in the surrounding area. The samples were studied with optical microscopy (microstructurally), and SEM-EDXS and XRF (chemical analyses). Our analyses are part of a larger study and suggest that the Prigglitz region’s bronze production was not standardized. Particular alloys do not seem to have been chosen for object types or due to their intended use-function. Notably, approximately 20% of the objects contain unalloyed copper inclusions, which are most likely a result of the incomplete mixing of scrap metals and alloys during their production.
The Late Bronze Age copper mining site “Gasteil Cu I” (ca 1050–850 BC) is located in the district of Neunkirchen, Lower Austria. Since 2010 five excavation campaigns took place and many artifacts as well as corroded metallic droplets were discovered. Two of these droplets were investigated by metallography.
At the droplet ́s surface tin was measured, indicating that these droplets are formed during bronze casting. The small droplet is severely corroded but in its core the original bronze alloy is still present. The analysis showed about 10 wt.% Sn. The microstructure is characterized by a Cu-Sn solid solution and a Cu-Sn intermetallic phase. Additionally small amounts of Cu2S were observed in the metallic core. The corroded rim contains oxides and hydroxides of Cu and Sn and other impurities like Ca, P, Si, S and Fe. Analyzing the corrosion products, Sn concentrations up to 40 wt.% were measured. This enrichment can be explained by a simultaneous formation of insoluble SnO2 and Cu ions, which were transported to the surface.
Surprisingly, the other large droplet has a corroded core and metallic phases are remaining at the rim. The microstructures of the corrosion products reflect the original casting microstructures of the bronze.
The form of buildings does not depend only on function, but also on climate, topography, available material and techniques, on symbolism and social structures. This can even be demonstrated by the example of modern architecture, for which the maxim 'form follows function' was originally coined. The functional interpretation of prehistoric architecture is especially difficult, because of its fragmentary state of preservation and because possible functions are not known a priori. Therefore this paper presents and evaluates five groups of methods, which allow interpretations of archaeological building features: 1) Ad hoc interpretations: these are mostly made implicitly and should be replaced by systematic approaches; 2) equalization of building types with functions: this method has limits because functional equivalents have to be considered; 3) conclusions by analogy: they depend mostly on the choice of objects for comparison; 4) circumstantial evidence: timeconsuming and expensive techniques of excavation and sampling as well as careful studies of taphonomy are necessary; 5) contextual analyses: easily run into the danger of circular arguments. In practice often only a combination of various methods provides good results; that is why a clear explanation of analytical methods is so important.
This paper presents a study on copper production and distribution in Lower Austria’s southeastern region during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1350–800 BC), with the focal point being the chemistry and isotopic character of artifacts from a small copper mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil on the Eastern Alps’ easternmost fringe. Ores, casting cakes, and select objects from the Late Bronze Age mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower-Austria, and within 15 km of its surroundings, were chemically and isotopically analysed using XRF, NAA, and MC-ICPMS. The importance of Prigglitz-Gasteil as a local mining and metal processing center is evaluated based on the produced data, and the distribution and sourcing of copper-producing materials found at the site are discussed. Special attention is paid to the mixing of scrap and source materials early in the metal production process. The most salient discussions focus on the variability of the chemistry and Pb isotopic ratios of the studied objects, which seem to constitute a multitude of source materials, unlike the pure chalcopyrite-source copper produced from the Prigglitz-Gasteil mine itself. The analytical data suggests that copper alloys were mainly imported from materials originating in the Slovakian Ore Mountains, which were subsequently mixed/recycled with relatively pure locally produced copper. The purity of the copper from Prigglitz-Gasteil was fortuitous in identifying imported copper that contained measurable amounts of Pb and other chemically distinct characteristics. The chaîne opératoire of metal production at the site is mentioned; however, it is clear that additional information on the region’s geochemistry is required before any finite conclusions on the ore-to-metal production can be made.
This paper starts from theoretical and methodical considerations about the role of archaeobotanical finds in culinary archaeology, emphasizing the importance of processed cereal preparations as the “missing link” between crop and consumption. These considerations are exemplified by the discussion of abundant new archaeobotanical data from the Late Bronze Age copper mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, situated at the easternmost fringe of the Alps. At this site, copper ore mining in opencast mines took place from the 11th until the 9th century BCE (late Urnfield Culture), as well as copper processing (beneficiation, smelting, refining, casting) on artificial terrain terraces. During archaeological excavations from 2010 to 2014, two areas of the site were investigated and sampled for archaeobotanical finds and micro-debris in a high-resolution approach. This paper aims at 1) analysing the food plant spectrum at the mining settlement of Prigglitz-Gasteil basing on charred plant macroremains, 2) investigating producer/consumer aspects of Prigglitz-Gasteil in comparison to the Bronze Age metallurgical sites of Kiechlberg, Klinglberg, and Mauken, and 3) reconstructing the miners’ and metallurgists’ diets.
Our analyses demonstrate that the plant-based diet of the investigated mining communities reflects the general regional and chronological trends rather than particular preferences of the miners or metallurgists. The lack of chaff, combined with a high occurrence of processed food, suggests that the miners at Prigglitz-Gasteil were supplied from outside with ready-to-cook and processed grain, either from adjacent communities or from a larger distance. This consumer character is in accordance with observation from previously analysed metallurgical sites. Interestingly, the components observed in charred cereal products (barley, Hordeum vulgare, and foxtail millet, Setaria italica) contrast with the dominant crop taxa (broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum, foxtail millet, and lentil, Lens culinaris). Foraging of fruits and nuts also significantly contributed to the daily diet.
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